


Alpha to Omega, and Back Again

by hunter_king



Series: Supernatural - J2 [6]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Altered States, Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bottom Jared Padalecki, M/M, Slash, Swearing, Top Jensen Ackles, Violence, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 23:28:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16732686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter_king/pseuds/hunter_king
Summary: Jared has known Jensen his whole life, their families grew up together and as Jared grew he fell in love with Jensen, and can't imagine being with anyone else. The only slight problem is that Jensen is a werewolf, his family are all wolves. Jared is human with no wolf blood in his family. Werewolves and humans don't mate. After Jensen refuses to turn him, they break up and Jared moves far away to forget all about Jensen. Until he learns that his parents have been brutally murdered in their home. By werewolves. When Jared returns, Jensen wants nothing more than to rekindle their relationship, though Jared wants no parts of it. Jensen knows it won't be easy to persuade Jared but if he can just get Jared to trust him, remember not all wolves hurt humans then maybe, just maybe he hasn't lost his Mate. For Jared he's willing to wait for an eternity, do anything to win Jared back.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for Imogen_lily  
> Beta'd by novakev

A deep groan of pain mixed with pleasure escaped Jared as his back hit the wall, the sound swallowed up in the kisses he and his boyfriend were sharing. It wasn’t always like this – only when Jensen got really horny – but Jared loved it when this happened. Most of the time, Jensen treated Jared like some sort of fragile little human who was made of glass, and Jared hated it. He was 6’4” for crying out loud! Jared was perfectly capable of taking care of himself!

Then again, although he would never say it out loud, he kind of liked it when Jensen babied him. He was so caring, and loving, treating Jared like he was the most precious thing in the world. He could only imagine how awesome it was going to be when they had sex. And that was the truth, too – he really could only _imagine_. Jensen was such a prude; he refused to have sex with Jared because he was worried he was going to hurt him. It didn’t matter that Jared wanted to be fucked by his boyfriend – what he wanted didn’t matter if there was a chance he would get hurt.

But Jared trusted Jensen – he knew he wouldn’t hurt him. If only he could get Jensen to believe in and trust himself like Jared did, they might actually get further than second base.

“Mmm…m’sorry baby,” Jensen mumbled as he broke the kiss, their foreheads pressed together as they both drew in some much needed oxygen. “Did I hurt you?” He’d heard the groan escape Jared when his back hit the wall, but he wasn’t sure if it had been in pleasure or if the younger man was in pain because of how roughly he’d shoved him. Sometimes, Jensen just couldn’t control himself – it was the damn wolf in him; when he got carried away, he got a little rough. That’s why he and Jared couldn’t have sex. He was just trying to protect the younger man.

God, he couldn’t even groan in pleasure without Jensen thinking that he’d gone too far. Wrapping his hands around Jensen’s neck he fisted his fingers in the older man’s hair, pulling Jensen closer. “No, m’fine,” Jared mumbled with a shake of his head. “Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.” If Jensen stopped right now, Jared was going to freak out. After all of the effort it took just to get Jensen into this mood, if he didn’t follow through with at least a good make-out session, Jared wasn’t going to be a happy boyfriend. And as Jensen had once said, Jared was a lot more fun when he was a happy boyfriend.

The fact of the matter was, Jensen was a werewolf, and Jared was a human – usually, the two didn’t mix, but Jensen and Jared were trying to make a go of it. Besides, it had been proven in some cultures that werewolves and humans could co-exist. Jared had lived here almost his whole life, and neither he nor his family had ever had a problem. Hell, when Jared had been six years old and followed Jensen around like a lost puppy dog, Jensen’s family had practically adopted him as one of their own.

Most humans feared werewolves because of all the bad press they got. When something went wrong in a community where werewolves were known to live, they automatically got blamed and they were all but run out of the town. Jared and Jensen both hated the bad press human media gave werewolves because it was almost always wrong. Werewolves weren’t ruthless killers – hell, most of them were more gentle and docile than some humans.

Of course, the media didn’t focus on that. All it cared about were the few werewolves who did make mistakes. Although it was a huge taboo in the werewolf community, some werewolves did turn humans against their will. _That_ was the kind of ruthless things the press would focus on – they never wrote articles about how some humans and werewolves could fall in love and actually be in a relationship for two and a half years without incident.

But Jared didn’t waste his time thinking about any of that. He knew the truth, and that was all that mattered. Luckily for him, Jensen went against tradition and actually agreed to date Jared. Most of the time, werewolves stuck to their own species because they were worried humans wouldn’t understand them, or that their human companion would be hurt if they got out of control. And sure, it took Jared a good two and a half years to get Jensen to date him, but it was worth it. Ever since he was fourteen, Jared knew that he was in love with Jensen, and he worked his charm and managed to get Jensen to agree to give him a shot.

That had been one of the only times Jared had ever been proud to be a nerd. The younger man had done his research and took Jensen documented cases where humans and werewolves had been together romantically. Sure, it had been about one hundred years ago when it had been most common, but Jared had been willing to work with those odds at the time. And he was glad he had been because everything had turned out in his favor. Now, if only he could get Jensen to loosen up a little bit and maybe at least they could touch each other without their clothes on, or something.

Another deep groan escaped Jared as Jensen’s teeth lightly scraped along the long column of his neck, Jared pressing his body against Jensen’s so he could feel every inch of his boyfriend touching him. They were both rock hard and Jared just wanted to shove Jensen down onto the bed and take what he wanted – he wouldn’t though. For one, he was too much of a chicken to make the first move like that and two, Jensen had made it very clear he wasn’t ready to have sex with Jared yet. Apparently, he was waiting for the right moment, or something which was romantic and all, but Jared was ready now. He was eighteen, after all. In a couple weeks, he would be graduating from high school, and he was still going to be a virgin, for crying out loud!

“J-Jen,” Jared mumbled softly, his fingers gripping Jensen’s chin and forcing him to look into his eyes. “I want to touch you. U-Under your clothes.” It was bold, but Jared was willing to take the hit if Jensen said no. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Jensen denied to do something Jared wanted. He’d spent two and a half years getting his proposals to go on a real date turned down, but he had been persistent and he eventually got what he wanted.

Just as Jared thought Jensen was going to agree to let him do as he was asked, they were interrupted, forcing Jensen to step back away from Jared as his bedroom door burst open. “Guys, Mom wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready,” Megan explained, smiling at the looks on the boys’ faces. She knew that she should have knocked, but she didn’t think those two were actually doing anything sexual, so she hadn’t worried too much about it. Jared was a virgin, after all. Everyone in the family knew that.

Rolling his eyes, Jared pulled his shirt down where it had ridden up before he headed out of the room and down the stairs. It wasn’t uncommon for their families to dine together, but boy did they have impeccable timing. If he had just gotten a few more minutes with Jensen, Jared was sure that he could have worn him down and he would have finally gotten to touch under the older man’s clothing. Oh well, this gave him a reason to continue the make-out session later and try again. After all, Jensen and Jared always spent their time together holed up in the other’s room. It was like their parents didn’t care if they were together because they trusted them. 

Not that Jared was complaining about that, of course. Sure, it wasn’t the brightest move on his parents’ parts, but he wasn’t going to mention that. He was eighteen years old, so of course he was horny all of the time. And being a virgin dating a man who was as hot as Jensen didn’t help with that fact either, but for some reason, his parents trusted him. Well, Jared had a feeling that they trusted Jensen more than they trusted him, but he wasn’t going to complain about that either. They were smart not to trust him. If it had been up to Jared, they would have slept together by now.

Dinner wasn’t anything to talk about – same old, same old. Megan and Mackenzie were complaining about school assignments that they had, Josh was chatting with Gerald and Alan about his college schedule this semester, and Donna and Sherry were chatting about some kind of spring event that they wanted to set up at the house. Jared and Jensen weren’t paying attention to anyone else really, too focused on each other. It was obvious they had been making out – Jensen’s lips were red and kiss swollen and Jared’s hair was a mess. No one said anything about it, though. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for Jensen and Jared to slip up to Jensen’s room and make out. It was actually kind of expected.

So when Jensen and Jared quickly ran back up to Jensen’s room when dinner was finished, no one said anything about it, Donna actually smiling fondly at her son and his boyfriend. Jared was a good kid, and if Jensen was going to be with a human, Jared was definitely the only boy she could see her son with. After all, Jensen was well over the age that many alphas mate, and for a while, Donna had been worried her son was never going to find the right one. But she knew that as soon as Jared got him to finally agree to go on a date that Jensen had found _the one_. Sure, mating between humans and werewolves wasn’t common, but it surely wasn’t impossible either. And if the time came that Jared happened to want to be a werewolf so he and Jensen could mate properly, she didn’t think anyone would be against that.

As soon as Jared had Jensen in his room again, he shoved him against the wall, attacking his mouth with his own once more. Jared was ready to pick this up right where they left off, and he didn’t see why Jensen wouldn’t feel the same way. He still hadn’t given up on his want to touch Jensen under his clothing, and he wasn’t going to. “S-So…can I?” he asked, picking up their conversation and knowing that Jensen would understand what he was asking. The older man had been adamant about the whole no sex thing, but Jared didn’t think that he would deny some touching. What was the big deal with that?

He wanted it – really, he did – but he was scared. Jensen was still young, after all. And the last time he had been with someone, he hurt them pretty badly. That’s why he kept telling Jared that they needed to wait – he didn’t want to hurt Jared in the same way. Sure, the kid had lived – the werewolf gene had helped heal him a lot faster than a human would – but Jared wasn’t a werewolf. Jared wouldn’t heal like the other boy had. And that’s what scared the hell out of Jensen. If he ever lost control and hurt Jared, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Still, Jared had been so patient with him, and it was just touching. It wasn’t like Jared was asking to blow him, or anything. Plus, they could keep their clothes on and still touch; that wasn’t a problem. And Jared seemed to really want this, so how the hell was Jensen supposed to say no? Sighing, he nodded, licking his lips as he explained, “Y-Yeah, okay. Just…go slow…and if I say stop, don’t ask questions – just do it.”

Honestly, Jared couldn’t believe that Jensen was agreeing to this. But that didn’t mean he was going to dwell on that, quickly nodding as he allowed his head to process the fact that in a few seconds, he was going to be able to feel Jensen’s skin instead of the rough denim he always had to grab. Slowly, he allowed his hands to slide down Jensen’s body, his breath catching in his throat as he felt the older man’s muscles rippling under his fingertips through the fabric of his shirt. Once he reached the waistband of Jensen’s jeans, Jared bit into his bottom lip as he slowly popped the button and dragged down the zipper. God, this was unbelievable – finally, he was getting to feel Jensen skin-to-skin.

Jensen groaned in pleasure when Jared’s hand cupped his erection, the older man biting into his bottom lip to keep the louder sounds that wanted to escape him from coming out. Shit, Jared’s hand felt so damn good. This is why Jensen had been waiting – he knew that the second he allowed himself to have just a little taste, he’d want more. When it came to Jared, he had absolutely no will power. He could already feel his body starting to heat up, letting him know that he was on the verge of becoming dangerous.

But Jared had waited so patiently for so long for Jensen to allow him to do this and he was going to let him keep going until Jensen got to ground zero. He owed him that much after being such a prude. So Jensen grounded himself, taking a deep breath as he just let his body relax, focusing on _who_ was touching him like this and not just the fact that he was being touched. As long as he reminded himself that this was Jared who was with him, he generally was able to keep pretty good control on things. 

Sometimes, Jensen actually had to wonder what attracted Jared to him. Sure, he was an all right looking guy, but he had so many issues. First, the obvious issue being that he was a werewolf. And not just any werewolf – he was an alpha wolf. It meant that he had heightened senses – he was faster and stronger than any human, beta, or omega wolf. Not to mention that he was almost five years older than Jared, which he sometimes wondered if that wasn’t too much of an age gap. And then there was always the worry in the back of his mind that he was going to lose it and hurt Jared. The younger man may have had confidence in him, but Jensen didn’t share the same feelings.

Another deep moan was torn from Jensen’s throat as Jared thumbed at his slit, the older man’s hips bucking into Jared’s hand on their own accord. “Fuck…Jay,” Jensen breathed, his fingers curling around Jared’s biceps as he held on for whatever Jared was planning next. Ground zero was coming up on him fast and there was nothing he could do about it. “J-Jay…not gonna be able to do this much longer, baby,” he warned, biting into his bottom lip to silence another moan.

“Y-Yes, you can,” Jared assured Jensen with a small nod, pulling his head back so their eyes were locked. “Just concentrate. This is me; you’re not gonna hurt me.” He’d promised Jensen that if he was told to stop, he would without question, but Jensen hadn’t come out and actually told him to stop yet. And until he did, Jared was going to take full advantage of this. Quickly, he flipped them around and pushed Jensen onto the bed, blanketing the older man’s body with his own. Crushing their lips together, Jared shoved his hand back under the waistband of Jensen’s jeans and boxers, nipping Jensen’s plush bottom lip lovingly. 

Breaking the kiss, Jared used his free hand to grip Jensen’s, lacing their fingers together as he tugged on Jensen, pulling his arm downwards. “You can touch me, too,” he whispered, breaths panting out against Jensen’s lips. “Please?” He was already rock hard and if he didn’t get some relief soon, Jared was going to start sobbing. This was the closest they had ever been to getting to home base and Jared wanted more. Even if they didn’t actually have sex, Jared just wanted to see Jensen come. He’d been imagining it since they first got together and now he wanted to see it.

This was getting to be too much. Jared wanted more from Jensen and he wasn’t sure if he could give it. He knew that Jared was worried about being the only man in high school who was still a virgin, but Jensen wasn’t going to risk hurting him just because of that. When he was ready, he’d take Jared, but until then they were going to wait. But Jared was really pushing the envelope here, Jensen hesitating for a moment before allowing Jared to push his hand into the younger man’s pants. And holy fuck, it felt so damn good! Jared’s skin was hot and hard, all for Jensen and he didn’t want to ever stop.

Unfortunately, he knew he had to. His body was starting to vibrate with the pull of wanting to turn – of wanting to claim. Jared was a human and if Jensen tried to have sex with him – because of the feelings he had for Jared – his body would try to knot. A human wasn’t able to take a werewolf’s knot without serious consequences, and Jensen wasn’t going to do that to his boyfriend. Jared couldn’t possibly understand the mechanics of how werewolf society worked and he would just assure Jensen he could control himself. The fact of the matter was, Jensen couldn’t – not completely, anyway. Not when it came to Jared.

Before Jensen knew it, Jared was wrapping his hand around his cock, stroking slowly, almost tentatively, like he had no idea what he was doing. Hell, Jared probably didn’t because he was a virgin, but it still felt like Heaven. And Jensen knew that he couldn’t have Heaven right now. There was too much at stake and he just couldn’t let Jared do this. “Jared, stop…” he breathed, giving his head a small shake even as his hand started sliding over Jared’s hard flesh, using the pre-cum oozing from the head to slick his way. “Stop, please, I…I can’t.”

Jared knew that he should stop – had promised that he would if Jensen asked him to do so, but he couldn’t. They were so close, and Jared wanted them to finish this. He wanted to see Jensen come apart beneath him and memorize the look on his face – the sounds he made. “You can,” he assured Jensen with a small nod, rutting his hips into Jensen’s hand. “You are. Don’t make me stop. Not now. Please, Jen?”

Both of them are begging – desperate. Jensen wants to stop because he doesn’t trust himself, and Jared won’t let him because he knows that Jensen can get through this. Of course, Jensen was going to do whatever Jared wanted because it goes back to the whole no will-power thing, and his hips were thrusting wildly into his boyfriend’s hand, his own fingers playing along Jared’s dick like a pro. 

It didn’t take long before Jensen’s body was arching off the bed, a loud scream of pleasure ripping through him, forcing the older man to cuff Jared around the neck and pull him down into a passionate kiss. Their parents were downstairs, after all. They didn’t need to know what was going on up here, although Jensen had a feeling they really wouldn’t care. At least not his parents, anyway. And Jared’s parents had to know that Jared was an eighteen year old boy – most kids his age were sexually active. 

And now that he and Jared had gone this far, there was no going back. He watched in awe as the younger man shuddered above him, his warm cum coating Jensen’s hand as he worked Jared through his orgasm. This was definitely not something he would be able to get out of his mind, and he knew Jared was going to want more. On the bright side, this proved that Jensen had more control than he thought he did. Hopefully this would placate Jared and he wouldn’t bother him about having sex for a while. This was a good substitute he supposed – for now, anyway.

A wide smile came to Jared’s lips once he could get control of himself again, his hazel eyes locked on Jensen. “I told you that you could handle this,” he gloated as he pulled his hand free from Jensen’s pants, buttoning his boyfriend’s jeans back up. “And you were…amazing at it.” Jared wasn’t going to deny that he’s jerked himself off to thoughts of Jensen, but he’d never come like this to his own hand. Jensen had been the reason for that.

“Aren’t we smug?” Jensen asked, buttoning Jared’s pants before he gripped the younger man’s hips and rolled them over so he was lying on top of Jared. Surging forward, he crushed their lips together, intent on getting another make-out session in before Jared had to go home. After all, tomorrow was a school day, and Jensen knew Jared’s parents were going to want to take him home soon, unfortunately. Seriously, they were allowed upstairs in Jensen’s room alone with the door closed, but sleep overs were strictly forbidden. It made no sense to Jensen. Must have been one of those human customs that he didn’t really understand.

Just as Jared was about to answer Jensen’s question, there was a knock on the door, Jensen quickly rolling off Jared so no one would think they were doing anything wrong. “Yeah, come in,” he called out, smiling at Jared as the door opened to reveal his brother. “Hey Josh, what’s up?”

Josh smiled at Jared and his brother before he explained, “Jared’s parents are ready to go home. They sent me up here to get him.” It wasn’t hard for a werewolf to tell what had been going on up here. The scent of arousal was hanging heavy in the air, and that shit-eating grin on Jensen’s face would have been an indication even if Josh couldn’t smell the sex in the room. How they got dressed so quickly was way beyond him though – he would have to learn Jensen’s secrets about that later, he supposed.

Although leaving was the last thing that Jared wanted to do, he knew that arguing with his parents wasn’t a good idea if he wanted to see Jensen again. “Okay, thanks Josh. Tell them I’ll be down in a minute,” Jared answered, returning the other werewolf’s smile as he turned towards Jensen to say good night. He was actually pouting as he leaned towards Jensen and pressed their lips together, pushing his tongue into Jensen’s mouth and mapping out the familiar wet cavern. 

By the time he broke the kiss, both men were panting, Jared’s forehead resting against Jensen’s as their breaths mingled. “I don’t want to go,” Jared pouted, biting into his bottom lip. “I hate it when I have to leave and I don’t get to see you until tomorrow. It sucks.” If it were up to Jared, he would be with Jensen all day every day. But he still lived with his parents and went to high school, so he wasn’t the one calling the shots.

He knew exactly what Jared meant. Jensen hated it when they had to say goodbye. But Jared’s parents had made their rules clear in the beginning, and Jensen was going to respect them. Until Jared was out of school and able to make his own rules, Jensen wasn’t going to upset the parents so he couldn’t see Jared at all. That would have just been stupid. Instead, he cuffed the back of Jared’s head and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. “I don’t want you to go either,” he breathed when the kiss broke, their foreheads resting against each other’s. “But your parents aren’t going to change the rules and let you sleep over. And if we argue with them, it’s only going to get us into trouble. You can see me tomorrow, baby.”

Again, Jared bit into his bottom lip, giving his head a small nod. “Yeah, I know I can,” he assured Jensen. “Just sucks that I have to wait so long.” Pressing their lips together once more, Jared rolled off the bed and headed down the stairs. He said his goodbyes to Jensen’s family before he was out the door, climbing into his parents’ car and smiling at Jensen’s bedroom window when he saw his boyfriend standing there watching him. It occurred to him in that moment just how much he loved Jensen. His chest was aching at the thought of not seeing him again until the next day, and Jared knew that it could only be because he was so in love with him.

Ever since Jared could remember, he’d been in love with Jensen – even before he knew what love was. When he was little, he’d run around saying that he wanted to be Jensen’s mate, but everyone had just figured he was being cute. Jared knew now that he hadn’t just been saying it; he really wanted to be Jensen’s mate. Being his husband wasn’t enough – mates were forever, unlike marriage. And there were so many other perks to being mated rather than married. For one, mates can feel and sense each other’s emotions. Of course, it wasn’t like they could read minds or anything, but they were in a sense, mentally connected. There was just one problem – a human could only mate with a werewolf if they were turned into a werewolf themselves. 

Now, Jared had done his research. He knew how risky it was for a human to be turned into a werewolf. There were all kinds of cases on the internet about transformations that had gone bad. Humans who had been bitten needed to be under constant care and surveillance for up to thirty six hours, and even after that, there was no guarantee the human would survive the change. And that wasn’t even accounting for the ritual that had to be performed. To turn a human, the wolf had to bite them and drink their blood. Once that was finished, the human had to ingest the werewolf’s blood for the ritual to be completed – from what Jared could tell, it was very complicated.

Also, Jared had to take into account that newly turned wolves could only turn out to be betas or omegas – never an alpha. Not that it was an issue for Jared, but with his luck, he’d become an omega, which was even more dangerous than becoming a beta. Omegas were practically irresistible to other werewolves, and while Jared was still in the beginning stages of the change, he would be vulnerable – Jensen wouldn’t be able to mate with him until he was a little more adapted, which left him open to someone else trying to get at him. He wasn’t worried about that though – Jared knew Jensen would never let anyone near him with the intent of harming him.

What he was worried about, however, was the fact that betas and omegas, whether male or female, could get pregnant. Naturally, it was a lot more dangerous for an omega to get pregnant though, so that was something else that Jensen would probably freak out about. But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. It was something that they needed to discuss. After all, Jared was graduating soon, and this was the perfect time to talk about it so they could get everything planned out before graduation. Once he was done with school, Jared wanted Jensen to finally make him his – forever.

Mind made up, Jared grabbed his cell phone as soon as he heard his parents go to bed and dialed Jensen’s number. He wasn’t about to wait until tomorrow to discuss this with Jensen. It was something that needed to be discussed right now. “Jen,” he breathed when his boyfriend answered the phone. “I need you. Can you come over? Now? My parents are already asleep. Please?”

It was against the rules, and Jensen knew it, but he didn’t care. If Jared was calling him in the middle of the night like this, there had to be a damn good reason for it. Without hesitating, Jensen grabbed his jacket and jumped out his window, landing in a crouch outside his front door. “I’m on my way, baby,” he promised the waiting man. “I’ll be there in three minutes.”

True to his word, Jensen was slipping into Jared’s room through his open window three minutes later, the older man quickly moving towards Jared and gripping his upper arms, looking the younger man over to make sure there were no visible injuries on Jared’s body. “What is it, baby?” he asked when he couldn’t find any sign of injury. “Are you all right? When you called, I thought something had happened.”

“No, I’m fine,” Jared assured Jensen with a small shake of his head. “I just…I wanted to see you, that’s all.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared locked eyes with Jensen, his hands moving to slide up Jensen’s arms before they carded through Jensen’s hair. “I…want to talk to you about something. It couldn’t wait. Besides, we’ve never spent the night together before, and I want you to stay with me tonight. I’ll set the alarm clock and we can make sure that you’re gone before my parents even realize that you were here.”

Again, this was against the rules, but Jensen was honestly surprised just how willing to bend the rules he was when it came to Jared. “Okay,” he answered, allowing Jared to pull him towards the bed and push him down so that he was on his back. “What do you want to talk to me about?” Usually, when someone said they needed to talk in a relationship, it was the first sign that the other person was getting dumped. Of course, he wasn’t worried about that. Not with the way Jared was acting right now.

This was it – the moment he’d been waiting for since before he even knew he wanted it. But Jared knew that he had to be careful about this. If he went the wrong way about this, Jensen would definitely not agree to it. So, he had to get Jensen in the mood first – had to show Jensen just how awesome it would be if they were mates. And the best way to do that was by making out, Jared was sure. Climbing on top of Jensen, Jared dipped his head and crushed their lips together, both men moaning softly against the other’s mouth.

Just as they were getting into it, their kisses becoming more desperate and their dicks pressing against the flies of their jeans, Jared mumbled, “I love you, Jensen.” They’d never actually come out and said that before, so this was kind of a big deal. But Jared wanted Jensen to know that he was one hundred percent sure that he wanted this when the time came. He didn’t want Jensen to have any doubts because he sure as hell didn’t.

The words threw Jensen off, the older man frowning at his lover. Of course he loved Jared, too, but they had never spoken the words out loud, so what was he supposed to think? What was he supposed to say? There was only one thing that he could think of. “I love you, too, Jay,” he whispered back, leaning in and pressing their lips together once more. Now it was official – they’d said it and there was no going back. Not that Jensen would ever want to go back. He’d been in love with Jared since he was a teenager, so there was definitely no doubt in his mind that he and Jared were meant to be together.

Their kiss continued for a few more minutes before Jensen pulled back, his hands sliding up and down Jared’s back, feeling the younger man’s muscles rippling beneath his fingers. “So, what did you want to talk to me about, baby?” he asked, a little curious about it now that Jared had made the next move – he’d taken their relationship to the next level and Jensen wasn’t sure what that meant. It was honestly a little scary.

He could only see this going one way – Jared was going to be blunt. Just lay everything out on the line here and Jensen was going to answer however he pleased. But Jared was sure about one thing – he wasn’t going to tiptoe around this. “I want you to turn me,” he explained, biting into his bottom lip as he tried to read Jensen’s expressions. “I want to be your mate, Jensen.”


	2. Chapter 2

“No.” Jensen didn’t even know the word was coming out of his mouth until he’d already said it, and judging from the look on Jared’s face, it wasn’t the answer he was looking for. But Jared had no right to ask Jensen to do this. He had no idea what it meant to be a werewolf – a mate – and Jensen was in no position to teach it to him. Not that Jensen wouldn’t love for Jared to be with him as his mate, but the risks were just too high. There was no way in Hell Jensen was going to bite Jared and risk losing him – Jared couldn’t ask that of him.

It sounded final. Jensen was leaving no room for argument, and Jared didn’t understand why. “That’s it?” he asked, frowning at his boyfriend. “You’re not even going to think about it?” That wasn’t like Jensen. When Jared wanted something, they at least had a conversation about it and then if Jensen still didn’t agree, they let it drop and then came back to it later. But now, Jensen just said no – he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it, either, though Jared wasn’t going to let him get away with that one. They were going to discuss this because Jared wanted it more than anything. “Jensen, please? I want to be your mate, all right? I love you, and I want to be with you forever. I mean, it’s not like I’m asking for you to do this tomorrow, or anything, but sometime.”

Again, Jensen shook his head. “No, Jared, we’re not going to talk about it because there’s nothing to talk about. I’m not turning you into a werewolf, and that’s all there is to it.” Surely, Jared could understand why Jensen didn’t want any part of this. But he was looking at Jensen with those big puppy dog eyes and if he didn’t stop, Jensen might actually give in. He had to make Jared stop; make him understand that no good would come of turning him into a werewolf. “The risks are too great, Jay. You could die, dammit!”

There were other reasons too, but that was the big one. Honestly, Jensen was a little worried that if he turned Jared – if Jared survived it – Jensen was worried that Jared would eventually regret it. Or hell, Jared would fall for someone else and not want to be with Jensen anymore. But he wasn’t going to voice those concerns. What would be the point? Jared would only deny them. The risk of Jared dying was reason enough for Jensen without the other two complications.

Shaking his head, Jared explained, “Jensen, it’s all right! I know the risks. I don’t care!” Well, sure, he cared a little bit – he didn’t want to die, after all. That would defeat the whole purpose. “I want to be with you – as your mate – and the only way for me to do that is to become like you. I’ve read all about the risks. I know there’s a chance that I could die, but there are documented cases of people surviving the change.”

This was becoming more and more clear – Jared wasn’t going to let this go. He wanted Jensen to turn him, and he wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted. But Jensen couldn’t do that. So, there was only one way Jensen could see this ending – he had to break Jared’s heart. “No, Jared, it’s not all right!” Jensen hissed in response, flipping Jared off him so the younger man landed on his back on the mattress. “It’s not fucking all right! You think just because you’ve done all of this research and shit that you understand what it means to be a werewolf, but you don’t. You can’t. You’re too immature and naïve to deal with being turned.”

He could tell the moment that his words sunk in and hurt Jared. But it needed to be done. Jared needed to believe that he was better off without Jensen. So when Jared tried to argue his way out of this, Jensen made sure to be deliberately cruel, knowing the only way he could get Jared to believe what he wanted him to was to make Jared not want him anymore. Finally, he got angry, his nails elongating as well as his fangs as his hair grew a little shaggier. He was able to control the change, not becoming his wolf persona completely, but enough to scare Jared. “This is what I really am, Jared!” he yelled, pinning the younger man to the bed. “You have no idea what it means to be a werewolf. The only thing you have are romantic notions and stupid happily ever after fairytales! The real world isn’t like that, Jared!”

To say that Jared was shocked would have been an understatement. Jensen had never acted like this before, and Jared didn’t understand why he was acting like this now. They’d just told each other that they were in love and Jensen was just throwing all of that away because of some stupid odds that didn’t really mean anything. There were cases of multiple people who had survived and having their mate by their side was a huge part of that. Ninety nine percent of humans who were turned who had their mates already, survived.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected Jensen to act this way. And he was scared. “J-Jen…please stop,” he pleaded, giving his head a small shake. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong with you?” He’d never actually seen Jensen lose control. Sure, the older man would always warn him about this, but it had never happened. His boyfriend was always so composed. 

Although he’d never wanted to scare Jared, Jensen got his point across and that’s all that mattered. Slowly, he recomposed himself, allowing his nails and teeth to return to normal, his hair becoming short once more. He released Jared just as slowly, giving his head a small shake because he didn’t want to do this. The last thing he wanted to do was break up with Jared, but it was the only way to keep him safe. “I can’t do this, Jay,” he explained, biting into his bottom lip to hold back the tears that wanted to fall down his cheeks. “We’re over. That’s it.”

Before he gave Jared a chance to say anything, he was out the window, shifting into his wolf form and howling as he ran off into the woods to be alone. He’d take a few days to get over this – blow off some steam – and then he’d go back to his house. His parents would understand what he did – they’d realize he had to do it, and everything would be fine. Jared would go to college and he’d move on. That’s how it was supposed to be.

**~~**

Over the next few weeks, everything went to Hell. Jensen couldn’t work up the courage to tell his parents that he and Jared had broken up, so they were constantly asking about the younger man and Jensen would make up half-assed excuses as to why Jared wasn’t around; he had school work that he needed to finish, he was graduating in a few weeks and he had a lot of things to prepare for, Jared was checking out colleges. Jensen made sure to never use the same excuse twice if he could help it, but he knew that he was going to have to tell them eventually. Maybe when the time came, he could use Jared going to college as an excuse.

Today was Jared’s graduation day, and Jensen had planned on taking him out to a nice dinner – even made the reservations – but now that wasn’t going to happen. Hell, Jensen wasn’t even going to the graduation ceremony anymore. Instead, he called his cousin Christian and went over to his house where he spent the night getting wasted and blabbing about all of his problems. Christian was the only one who could understand where he was coming from because he had a human lover. Steve never bothered him to become a werewolf, though. Why couldn’t Jared have been like that? Sighing, Jensen took another pull from his beer bottle – he definitely wasn’t drunk enough for this shit.

Jared had tried to call Jensen to talk some sense into him, but every time he called it went to voicemail. Jensen was ignoring him, so eventually Jared got the picture. He stayed in his room most of the time, not really eating and not speaking to anyone, even if he was asked a direct question. Honestly, he wasn’t in the mood. Nothing mattered now that he wasn’t with Jensen. He should have just kept his damn mouth shut, but he didn’t think Jensen would freak out like that. In all of the years he’d known Jensen, he’d never seen him act like that before.

But that was over and done with. Jared couldn’t change the past, and it was painfully obvious that Jensen wasn’t looking to mend this bridge. Obviously, Jensen wanted nothing to do with him now. Jared hadn’t told his parents outright, but they knew – he could tell. His mother would come into the room and talk to him about all of her past relationships and assured him that it wasn’t the end of the world. But she didn’t get it – for Jared, it was. He didn’t want anyone else. All he wanted was Jensen.

When it was time for him to graduate, Jared half expected to see Jensen at the ceremony, but he should have known that he was just kidding himself. In the stands, he saw his parents, his sister, and Jensen’s family, but no Jensen. Jared wondered if Jensen had even told them that they were no longer dating – they didn’t have to pretend to like Jared anymore. And that’s all it was, Jared was sure. They just pretended to like him for Jensen’s sake, but now that Jensen wasn’t with him anymore, they wouldn’t have to keep up the charade.

No, that was ridiculous. Jared was just being stupid. Jensen’s parents were never anything but nice to him, even when he and Jensen weren’t dating. And they were great friends with Jared’s parents. He was just tossing his anger in their direction too, and that wasn’t fair to them. They had every right to be here and show their support. Even if Jensen had stayed away. Donna and Alan couldn’t control what their son did; Hell, maybe they would have done the same thing if Jensen had told them what happened. 

After the ceremony, Jared didn’t stick around for the parties and the congratulations – he just wanted to go home. Packing was next on his list because he needed to get out of here. After everything that had happened with Jensen, Jared couldn’t be here anymore. He didn’t expect his parents to stop being friends with the Ackles’, but Jared couldn’t go over there every weekend and have parties like they usually did. Not when he wasn’t with Jensen anymore. So going to school in California just seemed like the best option for him. Sure, he’d miss his parents, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t still talk every day.

Two days later, Jared was on a plane going to his new campus, leaving everything about Jensen in Texas. He hadn’t told the older man that he was leaving, not that he thought Jensen would care. Of course, he’d wanted to. He’d wanted to call Jensen and have him talk him out of this – to tell Jared to get his ass over to his house so they could talk about this – but he knew that wouldn’t have happened. Hell, he probably wouldn’t have even gotten Jensen on the line. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to leave some sappy goodbye on the other man’s voicemail. Besides, it was easier this way. Jensen could stop worrying about running into Jared and Jared could stop thinking about Jensen every time he went somewhere that reminded him of their relationship. Things would get better eventually – they had to.

**~~**

It wasn’t until the weekend that Jensen learned about Jared’s departure. Their families were having a get-together and Jared wasn’t there, which was odd. Of course, Jensen wasn’t going to ask about it – he’d been chewed out by his parents the day before because they had to find out about Jensen and Jared’s break-up through Jared’s parents. Of course, Jensen didn’t care about that. He had been planning on telling them eventually, but the time had never been right. And he’d never had a good enough excuse. But he couldn’t let his feelings show. He’d been the one who broke up with Jared, after all.

Unfortunately, his mother could see right through him. She knew how much Jensen cared about Jared and to lose him like this was hard. However, when she offered to comfort him, Jensen refused, pushing himself away from the table and shifting moments after he was out the door. He just needed some air. When this whole thing sunk in, he’d be fine, but for now, he needed space. Jensen needed time to process that he may have just lost Jared forever.

Then again, hadn’t that been the plan all along? He’d broken up with Jared because he wanted him to move on and not have a burning desire to become a werewolf. Well, now Jared was doing that, and Jensen was pissed about it. Hell, what happened if he met someone new at this college he was going to? Jensen wasn’t supposed to care, but he was going to be pissed. Jared was _his_ , dammit. And yes, he was well aware of the possessive streak he had for the younger man, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it out loud.

But that wasn’t Jensen’s problem – not anymore. He’d given up the right to be possessive of Jared when he broke the kid’s heart. Jensen had been so cruel to Jared that night. And then ignoring his phone calls probably just pushed the knife in a little deeper. Dammit, he was such an idiot. Maybe Jared had the right idea by leaving this place. There were too many memories here. Sighing, he ran towards Christian’s house. He’d know what to do. Christian always had an answer to everything.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry,” Christian mumbled when Jensen broke the news. “I know how much you cared about him, Jen.” He could tell that Jensen was trying to be strong – pretending that it didn’t bother him as much as it did, but he couldn’t hide from Christian. He knew Jensen too well for that. Unfortunately, he also knew how much Jensen’s parents wanted him to mate, and now that he wasn’t with Jared anymore, his father was going to be on him to get with a nice werewolf who he could knot and spend the rest of his life with. “You know…I hear that Europe is nice this time of year. Steve and I were planning on taking a vacation. Did you want to come?”

A few days later, Jensen, Christian, and Steve were on their way to Europe. Christian didn’t think Jensen was actually going to find a mate here, but that wasn’t his plan. He just wanted Jensen to get out in the world to see what it had to offer. Any idiot knew that Jensen and Jared were supposed to be together, and Christian was going to show Jensen what a huge mistake he’d made by dumping Jared. And when they were ready to go home, Jensen was going to see the error of his ways and he and Jared were going to get back together. Christian was sure of it.

**~~**

Four years – that’s how long Jared had been away from his family. How long he’d been trying to forget about Jensen and everything that had happened. But it was no use he was finally realizing. Sure, he’d tried to date while he’d been here, but nothing stuck. Hell, he’d even been with a werewolf at one point. His name was Chad, and he’d been great. Everything that Jensen wasn’t – laid back, care-free, and willing to turn Jared into a werewolf.

Sure, Chad hadn’t been all that eager to mate yet, but Jared wasn’t asking for that. He just wanted to be a werewolf; that way if he went back home and found that Jensen was still unattached, there was nothing that could keep them from being together. Jared didn’t care what Jensen said – he was still in love with him. Jensen could pretend all he wanted that after they broke up, that was it. He could ignore Jared’s calls and he could pretend like the two years they had been together hadn’t meant anything, but Jared knew the truth. Jensen still loved Jared as much as Jared loved him and once he was a werewolf, there would be nothing keeping them apart.

So, when Chad offered to turn Jared, the young man had taken the invitation. He’d gone over to Chad’s apartment and they’d had a nice, romantic dinner before they watched a movie. Jared appreciated that Chad was trying to make this romantic and everything, but it wasn’t necessary. “Chad, you don’t have to do this,” he assured the blonde man with a shake of his head. “I just…I’m not asking you to be your mate, or anything. I just want to be a werewolf. And you can do that for me. I don’t need all of this…foreplay, or whatever you want to call it.” Licking his lips, Jared added, “I just need you to turn me.”

Chad frowned when Jared explained that he just wanted to be a werewolf. He’d known for some time that Jared was kind of obsessed with his kind, but this was a little odd. Honestly, he didn’t understand why Jared would want to be this way – especially if he didn’t have a mate. It worked for Chad, but Jared was the kind of guy who needed a connection from what Chad could tell. And although the thought of just biting into Jared’s flesh and sharing his blood wasn’t a bad thing, he needed to know why Jared wanted this. He needed to know Jared’s angle. “Why do you want to be like me, Jay?” he asked, head tilting to the side as he waited for the younger man’s response.

Well, Jared hadn’t expected to get the third degree when he came to Chad’s apartment. All he wanted was to get bit, exchange blood, and be done with it. Sure, he and Chad had discussed that Chad would take care of him until he was well enough to do so on his own, but after that, Chad wouldn’t owe him anything. Hell, if Chad never wanted to see Jared again, he wouldn’t mind. Sure, they’d become pretty good friends, but it was nothing more – never going to be anything more because he was in love with Jensen. “I-I don’t know,” he answered with a small shake of his head. “I mean, why not? Werewolves are…great. The idea of being able to be with someone forever – it’s…the best thing in the world. Once you find your mate, there’s nothing that could be better.”

Chuckling, Chad explained, “Yeah, but it could take years to find your mate. And I know you, Jared. You’re the kind of guy who needs to make a connection – you need to be with someone you care about and who cares about you just as equally. What are you going to do until you find your mate? I mean, no offense, but I think you’re going to be miserable until that happens.” Not that Chad really cared – it wasn’t like he was in love with Jared or anything, but they were friends and he didn’t want the younger man to suffer. “I mean, don’t you think you should find your mate first and then have him turn you?”

“I tried,” Jared finally admitted, eyes locked on the ground. He had never told anyone about Jensen before, but if it would get him what he wanted, then Jared was willing to spill the beans. “I was with him for two years before he broke up with me because I suggested that he turn me into a werewolf so we could be mates. But he argued that the risks were too high – that I could die – and then he broke up with me.” Blinking back tears, Jared locked eyes with Chad, pleading with the other man. “But once I’m a werewolf, there’s nothing to keep us apart. He just wouldn’t turn me. You can though, and then there’s nothing that Jensen and I have to worry about. We can be together.”

Now Chad understood what the problem was. Jared was living in a fantasy world where everything would be fine as long as he was a werewolf. He didn’t want to hurt Jared’s feelings, but he wasn’t about to turn him and have the kid face that same rejection again. Obviously, it had left a mark. “Jared,” he started, giving his head a small shake. “Did you ever think that maybe Jensen said no because he didn’t want to be your mate? I mean, if someone loves you enough to be your mate, the risks wouldn’t matter. He’d turn you just because he wanted to be with you forever.”

No, that wasn’t right. Jensen loved him – Jared knew that he did. But what Chad said kind of made sense in a way. Still, Jared wasn’t willing to believe that. Maybe he should have actually picked up the phone every time that he wanted to talk to Jensen, but he just couldn’t work up the courage. Now he was kind of wishing that he hadn’t been such a chicken. Or that Jensen would have called him, maybe. Either way, wishing wasn’t going to help him now. He had a decision to make, and he needed to make it fast.

In the end, he’d chosen to just go home. Sure, he still wanted to be a werewolf, but it was obvious that he wasn’t doing it for the right reasons. And he knew that if his mate wasn’t around when he made the change, the chances of him not surviving through it were much greater. Jensen wasn’t ever going to be around when Jared wanted to make the change unless Jensen changed his mind and turned him. So, that’s why Jared had left Chad’s apartment without the bite. Of course, he’d broken up with Chad first, agreeing that they were much better at being just friends and promising to stay in touch.

Jared didn’t go home right away though, instead going to one of the local cafes that were open all night and indulging in some coffee. He was hoping that the caffeine would make his headache go away. Unless he had to, Jared didn’t really like to take any kind of pain medications, especially for something as simple as a headache. His father had always warned him that taking too many pills wasn’t good on his body.

A few weeks passed after his break up with Chad before Jared met someone new – Joe. He was different from anyone Jared would normally hang out with. Like, for instance, he wasn’t a fan of werewolves – at all. In fact, he hated werewolves. And while Jared didn’t share his same beliefs, they seemed to get along well, and eventually a relationship started. It was all very new, but Jared was adjusting. Joe was actually the first person Jared could see himself spending the rest of his life with if he couldn’t have Jensen. And it was becoming more and more obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to have Jensen.

Of course, Jared hadn’t been aware of the fact that Joe wasn’t a fan of werewolves when they started dating, but he’d learned the information about a month after they got together, and Jared was already pretty fond of Joe. There was no way he was going to break up with him over something as stupid as a difference of opinion. 

Actually, tonight was their three month anniversary and Joe had taken Jared out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Jared knew that Joe had wanted more before the night ended, but Jared just wasn’t ready to have sex yet. Honestly, he’d been putting it off for a while now and he knew Joe was eventually going to stop letting him get by with all of the stupid excuses he kept giving him. The reality was, Jared was still a virgin and he knew there was a part of him that was waiting for Jensen to take that from him.

But Jared wasn’t stupid – he knew Jensen probably wasn’t going to be his first. And he knew that he just needed to move on, but that voice was a big part of him, and he just couldn’t go against it. No matter how much he tried. So when the meal was done, Jared had made some lame excuse about him being tired and having a lot of classes in the morning that he needed to pay attention in, which got him home at a decent time. 

After having a cup of tea to calm him down, Jared crawled into bed and waited for sleep to take him. He had a feeling that he was just going to dream of Jensen again, but he didn’t really care. If the only time he could enjoy being with his ex-boyfriend was in his dreams, then Jared would take it. Sure, he knew that it was pathetic, and he probably should have gone to see a professional a long time ago about it, but he didn’t care. He just wanted this one thing to last for a little while longer.

He’d only been asleep for about twenty minutes when his phone started ringing, jarring Jared out of his dream. Damn, it had been a good one too. Jensen was just kissing and licking his way down Jared’s chest and telling him how much he loved him. But all good dreams had to come to an end at some point, Jared supposed, groaning softly as he reached for his telephone. “Hello?” he answered, his voice still rough with sleep.

“Jared?” the woman on the other end of the line asked, her voice small and hoarse from crying. “Hey, it’s Megan. I, um…I have some bad news, Jay. It’s about Mom and Dad. There…was an accident.” Her voice cracked as she began to sob again, sniffling as she tried to compose herself. “They’re dead, Jared. Mom and Dad are dead.”

The only thing he felt was numb as he tried to process everything that was happening. His sister was on the line sobbing and relaying the news that his parents were dead. An accident? What the hell did that even mean?! “I’m going to be on the first flight back home,” Jared assured his sister, nodding although he knew that she couldn’t see him. “Just…stay strong, Megan. I’ll be home in a few hours.”


	3. Chapter 3

Jensen sighed as he climbed off the plane, looking around the airport to see how much had changed since he’d gone. Nothing was really different – this place very rarely changed. It was one of the things that he could count on when he came home. It turned out that his trip with Christian had lasted a lot longer than he would have expected. While Christian and Steve had gone back home two months after they left, Jensen decided to keep moving – he wanted to explore the world and see what it had to offer. After all, Christian had been right; his parents were expecting him to settle down, and Jensen needed to find the one he wanted to be with.

Unfortunately, he had no luck. The person for him wasn’t out there in the werewolf community where most of his kind found the one. His mate was all the way in California studying to be a veterinarian at Stanford. And now that Jensen had some time to think about it – some time to see how other werewolves in different countries made human and werewolf relationships work – Jensen was ready to contact Jared. He felt awful for how he treated Jared that night, and he was willing to beg and grovel at Jared’s feet if it meant he could get him back. Because after four years spent traveling abroad and studying his heritage, Jensen knew that he was in love with Jared and he was going to finally take him as his mate.

Flipping open his cell phone, Jensen called his house, wanting to let his parents know that he had come home. When there was no answer, he thought that it was weird, but he didn’t dwell on it. After all, it was possible that his parents were just out somewhere – probably with Jared’s parents. Just because he and Jared weren’t together anymore didn’t mean that their families didn’t still hang out. After all, Donna and Sharon were still best friends and Gerald and Alan still played poker with the boys every Friday night as far as Jensen knew. It wouldn’t have been a stretch for them to be out with the Padalecki’s that was for sure.

Oh well, his return home would just have to be a surprise he supposed. However, as he drove into town, he was the one to be surprised by the police cars outside of the Padalecki home. Pulling into the driveway, Jensen cut the engine and headed towards the door, getting past the police officers who were trying to keep him out of the house within seconds – something was going on here and Jensen wasn’t going to let them stop him from figuring out what it was.

As soon as Jensen walked into the house, the overwhelming scent of blood almost had him choking. Something had _definitely_ happened here, and Jensen could tell that it hadn’t been good. His parents were in the corner sobbing, but Jensen’s attention wasn’t on them; it was on the two dead bodies on the floor – Sharon and Gerald Padalecki. It didn’t take a forensics professional to realize how they had met their untimely demise – wolf attacks.

Not being able to stand it in the house with the bodies and the blood, Jensen fled back outside where the fresh air awaited him, sucking in deep breaths. It was then that he picked up on another familiar scent – Jared. His eyes landed on his ex-boyfriend almost instantly, Jensen’s heart breaking for the sorrowful young man. He could only imagine what Jared was going through right now. But the younger man didn’t have to go through it alone. Jensen was going to be here for him because he loved him.

Without really thinking about it, Jensen made his way over to where Jared was standing; shoving his way past rows of police officers, reporters, and lab geeks in his attempt to reach Jared. He didn’t say anything to the other man, just wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist and pulled him into a hug, breathing in Jared’s intoxicating scent. “I am so sorry, Jay,” he whispered against Jared’s shoulder, lips pressing against the skin there on instinct. If they were still together, this is how Jensen would have acted – how he would have comforted Jared.

When Jensen’s arms went around him, Jared froze. Hours ago, he would have given anything to have this and only this, but right now, he just wasn’t in the mood. Over the last few years, Jared hadn’t been able to think of anything other than Jensen and now that his ex-boyfriend was here giving him everything he’d wanted for the last four years, it just pissed him off. Everything Jensen had said to him the night they broke up came rushing back and Jared couldn’t forget – he couldn’t forgive – not now.

He quickly pushed Jensen away, frowning at the older man. “What the hell are you doing here?” Jared asked, giving his head a small shake. This wasn’t okay. It wasn’t how Jared had imagined their reunion. Nothing here was going the way it should have and Jared just wanted to rewind the day and make everything all right again. But he knew that he couldn’t. His parents were dead – killed by werewolves – and there was nothing he could do to change that.

To say that he was shocked by the question would have been an understatement. Jensen had thought Jared would be happy to see him, but that was obviously not the case. Not that Jensen could really blame him – Jared had every right to be mad at him for all of the horrible things he’d said to him before he left. But Jensen was going to fix all of it. “What do you mean?” he asked, shaking his head. “I just got back into town. I saw the police cars surrounding this place and I came to see what was going on. And when I got in there and saw—” Jensen couldn’t even finish the sentence. “Of course I was going to come out here and see if there was anything I could do for you.”

“Yeah, well there isn’t,” Jared answered, shaking his head once more. “I don’t need your help with anything, Jensen.” That was a lie. He really did want Jensen to just hold him, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle it right now. Not to mention the fact that his boyfriend was around here somewhere probably looking for him. So no matter how much Jared wanted Jensen to be here for him, it just wasn’t going to happen. “Please…just leave me alone.”

No way. Jensen just wasn’t buying it. Jared had just lost his parents, and there was no way in Hell the younger man didn’t need a shoulder to cry on. And Jensen was willing to be that shoulder. All Jared had to do was let him be there. “Jay, come on. I just want to be here for you. Comfort you – that’s all. I’m not asking for anything else. And you look like you could use some comforting.”

It was becoming quite clear that Jensen wasn’t going to back off. Jared needed to make him understand that he wanted nothing to do with him anymore. It was the only way Jared was going to get through all of this. “No, Jensen! I don’t want your sympathy! I don’t want anything from you!” He could feel tears prickling at his eyes, but Jared quickly pushed them back. There was no way he was going to break here in front of Jensen. “This is all your fault! _Your_ kind did this to them! After your family made us feel safe; made us think that werewolves were good! Look where that got them, Jensen! So no, I don’t want anything from you. You just need to stay away from me. And my sister. Just stay away.”

Again, Jensen was beyond shocked by Jared’s words. Then again, he supposed the kid had just lost his parents, so it was only natural for him to be lashing out. And Jensen had crushed him a few years ago when he refused to be his mate, so it was only fair that Jared got to return the favor. But he had never seen the younger man so angry and bitter before. It wasn’t a look that he liked on his soon-to-be mate. “Jared—” he started, only to be cut off by the other man.

Jared didn’t want to hear it. “Just stop. I don’t want you. Get it through your head,” Jared snapped, pushing Jensen’s hands away from him when Jensen tried to touch him again. He knew that if he gave in and took even a small amount of comfort from Jensen, he’d want more. And right now, he was just too pissed off for that.

Suddenly, another man came into the picture, his muscular arm wrapping around Jared’s waist. This time when an arm went around his waist, Jared didn’t react. He knew that Joe was just looking out for him and being a good boyfriend, so he wasn’t going to say anything. “Hey, are you all right, Jared?” the new arrival asked, frowning down at the young man. Although he and Jared hadn’t been dating for long, he could always tell when something was bothering his boyfriend. And right now, Jared was vibrating with emotions and Joe knew that the best thing for him right now was to get the hell out of there. This conversation could be had another time.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jared assured his boyfriend, giving the taller man a small smile. “I just want to get out of here. Can we just…go somewhere? _Anywhere_ else?”

With one last glance at Jensen, Jared allowed Joe to lead him to his car. He couldn’t be here anymore. Maybe once everything had calmed down and all of the police were gone, he’d be able to come back and pay his respects to his parents. But until then, Jared just needed to get away. And Jensen being here only made everything ten times worse because he was happy with Joe, dammit! Jared didn’t need Jensen to come in here on his white horse and complicate his life. Not right now, anyway. And yes, Jared wasn’t going to admit it, but he still wanted Jensen. He wanted to be Jensen’s mate, and he didn’t care if Jensen didn’t want that. After all, it had been this way for four years, and Jared had little hope that it was going to change now.

Besides, he was happy with Joe. The other man was nice to him and although he was a little bossy, Jared didn’t mind. Joe was a jokester, and he liked that about him because Jensen had always been so serious about everything. The change in scenery was nice. It was just what Jared needed. And if he happened to realize the way Jensen’s shoulders tensed and the sneer that came to his face because he was jealous that Jared had a new beau, he didn’t let that affect him either. Jared was especially not thinking about how much it would piss Jensen off when he leaned in to press his lips to Joe’s. Nope, definitely not thinking of Jensen’s jealousy there at all.

Anger bubbled up inside Jensen when he saw Jared kiss the man who had swept in and taken Jared away from him. His possessive streak was showing and Jensen couldn’t even muster up enough common sense to care. The small hairs on his body were standing, feeling as though they were going to grow so Jensen could go over there and show this new punk just who Jared belonged to. But he restrained himself. After what had just happened here, he didn’t think an act of possession would be good for Jared. And it had been four years since his scent had been on Jared, so this man probably had no idea he was sniffing around Jensen’s territory. Well, it was no matter – Jensen would show him soon enough.

Almost as soon as Jared was gone, Megan came barreling out of the house towards Jensen, tears streaming down her cheeks as she practically tackled the older man. If he hadn’t been a werewolf, she probably would have taken them both on their asses, but he managed to steady them. His arms wrapped around Megan’s body, fingers combing through her long, brown hair. She was just a kid still – she shouldn’t have to go through this. Neither of the Padalecki children should have to go through this. It pissed Jensen off that someone could do this to people like Sharon and Gerald Padalecki. They were good people, dammit. “Shh…it’s okay,” he whispered softly in Megan’s ear, holding her just a little bit tighter. “Just let it out. M’right here.”

As far as Jensen was concerned, Megan was his family. The entire Padalecki family had been like his family, and he was going to find the asshole who’d hurt them. No one messed with his family and got away with it – especially not a werewolf. The media was going to eat this up. But werewolves had their own way of dealing with people who hurt humans, and if Jensen got to this dickhead first, then he was going to show him no mercy. Once the human government got ahold of him, he would be out of Jensen’s reach, but he was holding out hope that he would find him first.

In his experience, the humans took a very long time to close homicide cases like this. There were so many hoops they had to jump through in order to get any kind of information and it was a very lengthy process. Well, Jensen didn’t have to follow those same rules – he followed the werewolves’ code, and that allowed him to lead his own investigation. He just had to be careful that the police didn’t catch him because that could cause a problem. Jensen was pretty good at staying under the radar, so he wasn’t particularly worried about that.

“Who would do something like this, Jen?” Megan asked as she pulled back, her watery eyes landing on his face. “I just…I don’t understand who would want to hurt my parents. They were always nice to everyone. I don’t even think they had any enemies.” She was trying to think of any reason someone may have wanted her parents dead, but she couldn’t. As far as she was concerned, everyone loved them. There was no logical explanation for this.

Shaking his head, Jensen answered, “I don’t know, Megan. But I’m gonna figure it out. And when I do, I’m going to make sure they pay for what they did.” Of course, his version of making them pay and Megan’s were probably different, but he didn’t think she would care if the killer came up dead somewhere in a ditch. Hell, as long as she didn’t know Jensen was the one who did it, they would probably celebrate. After all, whoever did this deserved nothing more than a shallow grave somewhere.

Again, Megan’s arms went around Jensen as she buried her face in his chest, sobbing softly. Jensen held her through it, his hands running up and down her back soothingly until Mackenzie came over and offered to give Megan a ride back to their house. Apparently, after this incident, Megan was going to be staying with them for a while. That was probably best. Until they found out who was responsible for this, Jensen didn’t want Megan to be alone. And he didn’t want Jared to be alone either, but he didn’t think the younger man would want to stay with them. After all, he’d told Jensen to leave him alone. Then again, he’d also warned him to stay away from Megan, but Jensen wasn’t listening. And Jared had only been mad – he didn’t actually want Jensen to stay away from him. He’d make Jared see it sooner or later.

**~~**

The funeral was almost unbearable. Jared wanted to leave, but he knew that he couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been right to walk out on his own parents’ funeral. Plus, Megan needed him there for moral support, and he wasn’t going to leave her here to mourn alone. He could only imagine how hard this was on her because she was always closer with their parents than he was because she was the “baby.” 

When everything finally came to an end, there were more casseroles than an army could eat and so many sweets that Jared had a belly ache just from looking at them. “Megan, do you want to come stay with me and Joe for a while?” Jared asked after he said good night to the last guest. Currently, they were at Jensen’s parents’ house, and Jared just wanted to leave. Being here only brought back more bad memories, but it wasn’t like they’d had much of a choice. The wake couldn’t have been held at their house because it was still a crime scene.

A small frown came to Megan’s lips when Jared asked if she wanted to stay with him and his boyfriend. “No, I’m fine,” she answered with a shake of her head. “I’m staying here with the Ackles’ until I’m ready to move back home.” In all honesty, she hated Joe. The way he would always make Jared do things was ridiculous. And she could tell that he didn’t really care about her brother. Not the way Jensen did – Jensen was the man for Jared, and until her brother was smart enough to realize that, she wasn’t going to pretend that she was willing to accept any other man for him. “You should stay here with us. Joe can sleep at the hotel by himself if he still wants to stay there.”

Honestly, Jared didn’t know why everyone here hated Joe so much. So he was an outsider – Jared didn’t see the big deal. Then again, this was a very werewolf heavy community, so maybe that had something to do with it. But Joe was entitled to have his own beliefs. Who was Jared to try to change his way of thinking just because Jared didn’t share the same opinion. And hell, Jared wasn’t even sure what he believed now. If there were werewolves out there who could hurt his family like that, maybe all werewolves were just ticking time bombs. 

Sighing, he shook his head, pulling his sister into a hug. “I can’t stay here,” he explained before he kissed the younger woman on the top of her head. He couldn’t stay here with Jensen being in the same house. Too many good memories were here about the times he and Jensen had when they were still together. Jared didn’t need to remember all of that shit every time he was here. Just being here now was bringing it all back and Jared wanted nothing more than to get out of here. 

Joe walked in right on cue, smiling when he saw Jared as he walked towards him. He accidentally ran into Jensen on his way, Joe practically jumping out of his skin because he’d touched a werewolf. “Dammit, watch where you’re going!” Joe angrily spat, brushing off his arm where they had made contact. “Jared, are you ready to leave? I’ll be in the car.” Joe didn’t want to stay here any longer than he absolutely had to. There were too many werewolves sitting around acting all chummy with his boyfriend.

Without thinking about it, Jared nodded, moving away from his sister after he pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll call you later,” he assured her as he walked towards the door. Because he hadn’t been paying attention, he also ran into Jensen, though Jensen didn’t care as much about this as he had when Joe slammed into him. He was about to say that he was sorry until he realized who exactly he ran into – Jared wasn’t speaking to Jensen. The older man had ignored him when he warned him to stay away from him and Megan, so it was just stupid to try to talk to him. Obviously, Jensen wasn’t going to listen. 

However, Jensen didn’t share the same ideas Jared had on the subject. He’d been trying to talk to Jared for the last two days and every time they got close, Jared would turn the other way and ignore him. Jensen hated it. Everyone could see that Jared was hurting, and Jensen was just trying to help with that. It wasn’t like he was asking Jared to go steady again. Well, sure he wanted that, but he knew that Jared needed time. All Jensen wanted was to be there for Jared during his mourning period, and Jared wouldn’t even give him that small satisfaction. And yeah, Jensen understood that he’d hurt Jared in the past, but he had kind of hoped they would be able to get past it. Apparently, Jared wasn’t ready for that yet though.

Still, Jensen wasn’t going to let Jared avoid him forever. They still had something – Jensen could see it in Jared’s eyes when he looked at him. And if Jared wasn’t willing to admit it, then he was just in denial, which wasn’t going to fly with Jensen. Sure, Jared could hide behind his boyfriend and pretend to be happy with him, but Jensen could see right through that act too. No one liked Jared’s new boyfriend. Hell, the first time Christian saw him, Jensen had to practically restrain the other man because he’d wanted to rip his head off. And Christian wasn’t a violent guy.

Jensen’s parents even hated Jared’s new boyfriend. Well, Jensen wasn’t surprised that his mother hated him because he was proving her theory that Jared was Jensen’s mate wrong, but his father didn’t like him either. And Alan Ackles was usually the kind of man to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, so that surprised Jensen a lot.

Then again, Joe didn’t hide his hatred for werewolves very well, so it was no wonder no one around here liked him. He was one of the reasons werewolves lived in tight knit communities these days. They needed all of the protection they could get from the humans who were hell-bent on making their lives miserable. And he wasn’t even going to get into how much Misha hated him. That was really saying something because Misha didn’t give a shit about who Jared was dating because he had just moved back into town after being away for ten years. And although he was Jensen’s cousin, that didn’t mean he had to side with the family – he’d never worried about that before, after all.

In all honesty, Jensen was tired – he was tired of Jared not talking to him and acting like he was a piece of dirt on the bottom of his shoe. Jensen didn’t deserve that no matter how badly Jared had been hurt four years ago. Jensen had tried to apologize, but Jared wouldn’t listen – he wouldn’t hear him out. Well, Jensen was done with it. He’d tried numerous times to speak with Jared, even going as far as running into the younger man while he was taking a piss so he couldn’t get away, but Jared still refused to speak to him.

If he didn’t want to talk, that was fine. Jensen wasn’t giving up and he was still going to talk to Jared, even if the younger man didn’t respond. He was in love with Jared, and he wasn’t making the mistake of leaving him again. He’d done that four years ago, and look where it got him. 

So when Jared tried to sidestep him and get away, Jensen roughly grabbed his arm, keeping him in place so he would have to listen to what Jensen had to say. “Look Jared, I get it, all right?” he started, jerking Jared’s arm to make him stop squirming. He wasn’t going to hurt Jared – never – but he sure as hell wasn’t letting the younger man get away either. “You’re still pissed at me because of what I said all those years ago when you asked me to turn you. And you know what; you have every right to be. What I said was wrong, and I didn’t mean a damn word of it. If I could, I’d go back to that night and take the risk because being without you blows. And then to have this happen to your parents on top of that? I mean, I understand why you’re so pissed, but you’re taking a little too far, don’t you think?” 

He didn’t allow Jared to answer, simply talking over him when the young man tried to get a word out. “I don’t care how mad you are at me. You can hate me – or at least pretend to hate me – but it’s not going to change the facts, Jared. I love you. I’ve loved you since I was a teenager; I was just too stupid to realize it then. And I ran away because I was scared. Well, I’m not scared anymore – I know what I want. _You_. I want you to be my mate, Jared. To be mine… _forever_. Like it or not, Jared, I’m in your life, and I’m not leaving.” Leaning in, Jensen crushed his lips against Jared’s moaning softly when the younger man kissed him back for a brief minute before Jared realized what he was doing and shoved him away. Those few seconds were worth it.

Before Jared could say anything about the kiss, Jensen was gone, leaving Jared alone on the porch to think about what had just happened. Everything Jensen said was the truth – he still loved him, but now it was Jared who was scared. He didn’t want to get hurt again, and there was no telling if Jensen was actually serious about wanting to be with him forever. And Jared knew that he couldn’t face that rejection again. So, he walked the last few steps to Joe’s car, shaking his head when the other man asked him what that was all about. He would explain it all later and not get into a huge argument about it when he told Joe that Jensen was his ex who was harboring feelings for him. Of course, Jared would have to lie and tell him that he had no feelings for Jensen.

But he didn’t care. After all, it wasn’t like he was going to be with Joe forever.


	4. Chapter 4

“Look, Jensen, I don’t know why you’re getting all worked up about this,” Misha explained as he wiped his hands on the towel he had conveniently placed on the table beside him. Slamming the hood of the car he was working on shut, he added, “Jared doesn’t want to be with you, so why bother? I mean, there are plenty of other people out there for you. It’s not like you’re an ogre or anything. Hell, you could probably have anyone you want. So why the fuck are you stuck on this one guy who wants nothing to do with you?”

Seriously, it was like Christian was rubbing off on Jensen or something. Before Misha left, he had thought that he’d had Jensen believing in his motto – _use ‘em and lose ‘em_ , but now he’s come back to find that Jensen actually wanted to settle down. And with a human, nonetheless. There was obviously something wrong with this picture, and Misha was just trying to understand. He’d never really got the whole mating thing, but he knew for a fact that a werewolf couldn’t mate with a human. It was impossible because humans weren’t designed to take a wolf’s knot. And it was just weird. Humans were a lesser species – they didn’t deserve a werewolf’s love.

But Jared had it, and Misha didn’t get it. More to the point, he didn’t understand why Jared was rejecting Jensen when any other human probably would have been flattered to be with his cousin. And from all of the stories he’d heard about this Jared kid, Jensen already had him. Or, at least he did. Whatever happened was probably just a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, Jensen couldn’t see that, which was why he was griping and complaining to Misha right now while the older were was trying to fix his car. As soon as it was up and running again, Misha was getting out of this back water hell-hole and heading back to his own territory.

Misha didn’t get it. And honestly, it didn’t surprise Jensen. His cousin had never been the type to fall in love with someone, so of course he didn’t understand. “You wouldn’t understand,” he explained with a shake of his head. “I mean…I’ve been all over the world. After I broke up with Jared, I went on a trip that lasted four years, and I’ve met a lot of different people. Werewolves who were mated and werewolves who were looking for mates, but no one appealed to me. That’s when I realized that I’m in love with Jared. And it’s not going to change.” Pointing a finger at his cousin, Jensen argued, “And Jared loves me, too. He’s just…hurting right now, and he’s confused. But when he figures it out, all of this will have been worth it.”

Shrugging, Misha tossed the towel back onto the table and headed out of the garage. “Whatever, dude. You have fun with that,” he answered. “I’m gonna hit the shower and then grab some lunch. I’ll see ya later.” With that, Misha slapped his cousin on the back and headed into the house. He would have liked to have eaten lunch first, but with all the grease and dirt from working on the car he knew he had to shower first. Donna would’ve been pissed if he’d made a mess in her kitchen.

Once Misha was in the house, Jensen climbed into his own car and drove to the coffee shop down the street where he knew Jared liked to frequent. It had been three days since they last saw each other, and Jensen wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was missing Jared. He felt like a drug addict going through withdraw or something. But Jared had that effect on him, and Jensen didn’t care. Was it so wrong to love someone? Hell, there was a point in his life when he would have done anything for Jared, and vice versa. And he still would do anything for the other man, but he had a feeling that Jared didn’t share that loyalty. Not anymore. Not that Jensen really expected him to.

When he walked into the shop, he saw Jared’s boyfriend, but there was no sign of Jared, unfortunately. Still, he wasn’t going to give up. There was the possibility that Jared had finally come to his senses and dumped the prick and he was here wallowing. It wasn’t likely, but it was possible. And Jensen would hold onto that hope until it was crushed; just like his hopes of Jared pining over him the last four years and when he came back they could just pick up where they had left off. Yeah, that had been crushed almost as soon as he got back. But he could bring that hope back to life as soon as Joe was out of Jared’s life.

It was no secret that Jensen hated that dick’s guts. There was something off about him. And it wasn’t just the fact that he hated werewolves. He _really_ hated werewolves. Even to a point more extreme than some of the fuckheads who hunted them. Jensen wasn’t sure what this guy’s deal was, but he knew that he wasn’t right. And he sure as hell wasn’t right for Jared. Now, if only he could get the younger man to see that, his job would be a lot easier.

Steve was working, so Jensen headed up to the counter and smiled at his friend. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked, resting his elbows on the counter as he scanned the area for any signs of Jared. “Can I get a coffee? Black? And make it a strong one.” He waited while Steve got his order, his eyes ticking over to the table where Joe was sitting in case Jared showed up. “Thanks, Steve,” he smiled as Steve handed him his drink.

“No problem,” Steve answered. “And I threw in a shot for you, too. You looked like you could use it.” His eyes followed Jensen’s and he frowned softly, instantly knowing what Jensen was doing. “If you’re looking for Jared, he’s in the bathroom,” he explained, slapping Jensen’s shoulder. “They just got here and Jared let him order his drink. You’ll never guess what he got him.” When Jensen turned his attention back to him, Steve answered, “A _vanilla_ latte. And that’s not even the worst thing, Jen. It’s non-fat.”

That order was almost laughable. Anyone who’d met Jared and actually gave a shit about what he liked knew that Jared was addicted to hazelnut lattes with a double shot of espresso. And he sure as hell didn’t drink _anything_ that was non-fat. “You’re kidding me right?” Jensen asked, giving his head a small shake as he chuckled. “God, I have to see the look on Jared’s face when he takes his first sip.”

As though on cue, Jared walked out of the bathroom a moment later, frowning when he saw Jensen standing at the counter. It was like the guy was stalking him, or something. Everywhere Jared went, Jensen was right there watching him. Jared hated it, yet deep down, at the same time, he kind of thought it was cute. Jensen had told him that he wasn’t getting out of his life and now he was proving it. But Jared couldn’t show that he liked it. He had to pretend that he was pissed off by it; otherwise, Joe would think something was going on between them. 

And was there? Jensen had kissed Jared before he left his parents’ funeral, so maybe that meant something. Well, he already knew that it meant something to Jensen. He’d openly admitted that day that he wanted to be with him forever as his mate. If Jared had heard those words before, he would have jumped right on board, but now everything was complicated. His parents had been murdered by werewolves, and he wasn’t sure if he was comfortable with being mated to one now. After all, Joe said that it was a matter of time before they all snapped. Then again, Jared rarely listened to anything that Joe said about werewolves. For some reason, he hated them, and Jared didn’t even know why.

This was too much to worry about right now. Jared had come here to relax and drink his coffee, not worry about Jensen and their feelings for each other. He’d think about that all later when he wanted to be confused and stressed out. Sighing, he wrapped his hands around his coffee cup and took a swig, nearly choking on the liquid when it touched his tongue. _Vanilla_? Oh God, that would be the last time Jared ever let Joe choose his drink.

“What’s wrong, Jared?” Joe asked, frowning at his boyfriend. “You don’t like your drink?” He didn’t understand how that could be the case. Everyone loved vanilla. It was the universal flavor that you couldn’t go wrong with.

Shaking his head, Jared lied, “N-No, it’s fine. It was just…really hot.” He couldn’t let Joe know that he’d chosen the wrong drink. It’d have likely hurt the other man’s feelings, and Jared didn’t want that.

A small chuckle escaped Joe when Jared explained that the drink was hot. “Well, yeah Jared, it’s called a hot latte for a reason,” he patronized. “Drink it a little slower next time and that won’t happen.” With another shake of his head, Joe went back to reading his newspaper, completely ignoring Jared.

Just watching Joe and Jared interact made Jensen sick. He couldn’t believe that Jared was letting that oaf talk down to him like that. And he also couldn’t believe that Jared was lying about the vanilla latte. He _hated_ vanilla and he should have told that pompous idiot he was calling a boyfriend these days. Well, Jensen wasn’t going to deal with it. “Hey Steve, can you make me a hazelnut latte with a double shot of espresso?” he asked, his eyes locked on Jared the whole time. 

Without hesitation, Steve made the latte, knowing from years of experience just how Jared liked it. And it was obvious that this was for Jared because Jensen already had his coffee for one, and two, Jensen didn’t drink lattes. As a matter of fact, he used to make fun of Jared for doing so when they were younger. Once it was finished, he handed it to Jensen, smirking at the other man. “What are you planning on doing?”

Jensen merely smiled at his friend when he was asked the question. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure what he was going to do. He just knew that he wanted to make Joe feel like an ass while at the same time showing Jared that he still knew him better than anyone else ever could. Walking up to their table, Jensen smiled down at Jared before giving Joe a small scowl. “Hey Jay,” he greeted, pulling up a chair from another table and taking a seat. “What’s up, baby?”

His eyes widened to a near comical size when Jensen sat down and called him baby. They weren’t together anymore! Jensen couldn’t do that! He could feel heat rising to his cheeks as his eyes ticked up to Joe and then back to Jensen. “What are you doing here, Jensen?” he hissed, frowning at the other man. “You can’t just keep following me like this. It’s a criminal offense – it’s called _stalking_.”

Now it was Jensen’s turn to laugh, giving his head a small shake. “What makes you think I am following you?” he asked, his expression innocent. “I like this coffee shop too, you know? And besides, Steve is working today, so maybe I came to talk to him. Just because we both happen to be here doesn’t mean I’m stalking you. How was I supposed to know that you were here at this exact moment?”

Although Jensen had a point, Jared knew that he was lying. Somehow, he’d known that Jared was here, and that’s why he had come. “I don’t know how you knew I was here, but I know you’re only here because I am. Steve and Christian are dating, so why didn’t you go visit them there.”

While it was true Jensen was only here because he’d had an inkling that Jared was going to be here, too, he still wasn’t going to admit that he was stalking Jared – the dark haired man already seemed intent on pretending to hate him. Jensen didn’t need to give him another reason to be pissed at him. Instead, Jensen changed the subject, taking a whiff of the air and frowning. “Is that vanilla?” he asked, waving at Jared’s drink. “With non-fat cream?”

And there it was – Jensen’s angle. He was just over here trying to prove a point. Now, that explained why he had two coffee cups instead of just one. “Yeah, it is,” Joe answered before Jared could open his mouth. “What’s your point?” He didn’t know what Jensen was getting at, but he sure as hell didn’t like the mangy mutt sitting so close to him.

If he was being completely honest with himself, Jensen wanted to rip Joe’s head off. He’d never been one to have violent urges like this, but Joe just rubbed him the wrong way. And it was obvious that Jensen got under Joe’s skin just for being what he was. So, the next words that came out of his mouth, he couldn’t be held responsible for. Joe had brought this on himself. “Well, I’m just saying that anyone who took the time to get to know Jared would know that he hates vanilla. And anything non-fat. What he does drink is hazelnut lattes with a double shot of espresso.” Pushing the correct drink order towards Jared, Jensen explained, “Which just happens to be in this cup. I only get the best for _my boy_.”

The look Jensen shot Joe when he called Jared his boy sent Joe’s blood boiling. Obviously, Jensen didn’t get the picture that Jared was with him now and Jensen was ancient history. “Your boy?” Joe asked, laughing out right. “In case you haven’t realized it, Jared is with me now. And I know exactly what he drinks. Maybe when he dumped your ass he changed his tastes. Or maybe when he was with you, he only pretended to like that shit that you just shoved at him to make you feel better.” Smiling smugly at Jared, Joe added, “I know what my boy likes, mutt.”

Yeah, Jensen definitely wanted to rip this fucker’s head off. “You didn’t see the look on his face when he had to swallow that poison you’ve given him?” Jensen shot back, laughing softly. “Please, you can’t honestly tell me that you think he likes that shit.” Joe knew Jared? Somehow Jensen doubted that. He knew Jared better than anyone, and he was going to prove it. “If you know him so well, what’s his favorite color?”

Since Joe had never bothered to ask Jared what his favorite color was, he went with the most obvious. “It’s blue. I’m not an idiot,” he answered, glaring at Jensen. Every man on the planet liked the color blue. Hell, it was Joe’s favorite color.

“Wrong!” Jensen yelled triumphantly. “His favorite color is green. Emerald, to be exact.” Smiling smugly, Jensen continued, “Like my eyes. Isn’t that right, Jay?” His eyes shot towards Jared to study the younger man’s face because he was sick and tired of looking at Joe’s ridiculous mug. Honestly, he had no idea how Jared could even stand being around this clown.

Angrily, Jared screamed, “Stop it! Both of you, just stop!” He didn’t want to have to tell Joe that he was wrong, and he didn’t want to give Jensen the satisfaction of knowing that he was right. Of course, Jensen probably already knew that he was right, but Jared wasn’t going to confirm it for him. “I’m not going to just sit here and let the two of you argue over what I like and what I don’t. It doesn’t matter, all right. Jensen, I’m with Joe, and that’s not going to change. So just…leave me alone!”

As he was speaking, his hands flew around all over the place and he knocked over his drink, causing Joe and Jensen to jump out of their chairs as well so they weren’t splattered with hot liquid. “I have to get to work.” Grabbing the cup that wasn’t spilled, Jared headed out of the coffee shop, taking a sip of his drink on the way out. Thank God, he’d spilled the right one – the vanilla latte with non-fat milk.hererere

**~~**

Megan frowned as she went over the autopsy of her parents’ deaths one more time, looking for anything that could lead her to a conclusion about who may have done it. So far, she’d found nothing, but she was willing to look at the computer screen until her eyes bled if she had to. When a hand landed on her shoulder, she jumped, nearly falling off her chair as she slammed the laptop closed, her eyes landing on Mackenzie. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, pressing her thumb and index finger against her eyes to make them stop burning.

A small frown came to Mackenzie’s lips when Megan nearly jumped out of her skin when she touched her. That wasn’t how Megan usually reacted when she was touched. “Um…Jared’s here to see you,” she explained. “How much coffee have you had, Megan?”

That was a good question. “I don’t know, honestly,” Megan answered with a shake of her head. “Maybe three or four cups.” She had to keep herself awake and alert if she was going to solve the case of who killed her parents, and in order to do that, she was going to need some coffee. “Why?”

Shrugging, Mackenzie answered, “I’m just thinking that maybe you shouldn’t have anymore. You’re starting to act all jumpy like you do when you’re on a caffeine high. And maybe you should get some sleep. I’m sure whatever you’re working on will still be there in the morning.”

She knew that Mackenzie had a point, but it was hard for her to sleep these nights. Her parents’ murder had her on edge and scared. What if whoever attacked them was lying in wait somewhere to take out the rest of the Padalecki family? Megan was actually supposed to have been home when the police estimated her parents’ time of death, so this killer could be looking for her too. If she hadn’t been at the Ackles’ house helping Mackenzie with a project that they were working on for school, she would probably be in the ground next to her mom and dad. “I know,” she explained with a nod. “I’ll get some sleep; promise. Um…can you just tell Jared that I’ll be out in a minute?”

Once Mackenzie was gone, Megan flipped the computer open again, figuring she could at least read through the notes one more time before Jared got antsy. After all, he hadn’t been here since the funeral and Donna wanted to talk to him. This gave her the perfect opportunity to do so.

This was awkward. Jared had spent the last few days trying to avoid Jensen and his family because of what happened to his parents, and his sister was staying with them, which made his task a little impossible. Now, he was basically a captive audience in Donna’s kitchen, which wasn’t something he needed after the day he’d had. With everything that happened in the coffee shop and then his boss coming down on him for being off his game, he just really didn’t need one of Donna Ackles’ famous lectures about how he hadn’t been keeping in touch.

“Oh, Jared, have you even eaten anything since the last time I saw you?” Donna asked, ‘tsk’ing as she fixed the young man a plate of food. Setting the plate down on the table in front of Jared, Donna instructed, “Eat. You look like you’re all skin and bones under that hoodie you’re wearing.” When he and Jensen had been dating, Donna had made sure the boy had kept himself fed, but after he left, it appears that he didn’t take as good of care of himself as Donna had.

Although he was trying to keep himself at a distance, Jared couldn’t help but smile when Donna gave him the plate of steak and potatoes, starting to eat as soon as he was ordered to. After all, he hadn’t eaten yet today, and it was rude to decline such a delicious-looking meal when it was offered to him. “Thank you, Donna,” he smiled as he took another bite. God, he missed her cooking. She was excellent. He definitely hadn’t gotten to eat this good while he was away.

Now, it was Donna’s turn to smile. She hadn’t seen Jared since the funeral, and she’d wanted to sit down with him and have a chat. After all, she thought of Jared as one of her own, and she just wanted to make sure that he was all right after everything that had happened. But she knew that she couldn’t push the lad. If she tried to force him to talk to her, there was a chance Jared was going to bolt. “So…how have you been holding up, sweetie?” she asked, giving Jared a sincere look.

How had he been holding up? Well, that was a really good question. Honestly, Jared had no idea how he was. Most of the time, he was just angry and confused. Shrugging, he answered, “I’ve been okay, I think. I mean…I miss my parents, but I think I’m holding up pretty well. I just…sometimes I get really mad. Because I know that whoever did this is still out there, and I worry that he might come after me or worse, my sister.” Shaking his head, he added, “And then I get really confused sometimes because I don’t know what I should do about other things in my life, and I hate it.”

They were really getting somewhere here. “Don’t worry about that monster who did this to your parents, Jared,” Donna ordered softly. “You and your sister are completely safe. We’d never let anything happen to the two of you. As far as the Ackles’ are concerned, you and Megan are part of the family, so you’ll always have us here to protect you. And I just wish that we had been able to keep your parents safe, as well.” Sniffling softly, she added, “We would have done anything to keep them safe, but we weren’t aware there were any werewolves in the community with violent tendencies, who could go after your parents.”

Reaching across the table, Jared placed his hand over Donna’s, giving his head a small shake. “Don’t do that,” he whispered. “What happened to them wasn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself.” Jared had already played the blame game, and it had gotten him nowhere. Just passed out on the plane because he’d drunk too much. It never helped anyone, and he wasn’t going to let Donna beat herself up over this.

Donna placed her free hand over Jared’s, sniffling once more before she collected herself. “So, you said you were confused about other parts of your life?” she asked, eager to change the subject. “Anything I can help with?” She’d helped her own kids through some pretty tough spots in their lives, so she was pretty confident that she wouldn’t have a problem helping Jared with whatever he was going through. Besides, it would give her something else to think about other than Sharon and Gerald’s deaths.

Although his issues with Jensen were the last thing Jared wanted to talk about, he figured it wouldn’t hurt. Maybe Donna could put everything into perspective for him. And even if she couldn’t, he knew that it wasn’t good for him to keep these feelings bottled up inside him. It could only cause health problems down the line that he didn’t want nor need. “It’s just…your son,” Jared explained with a small sigh. “He keeps following me around and trying to get back together with me, but I just…I’m with someone else and I don’t even know if I want to be with Jensen again. The last time he…hurt me, and I don’t know if I can go through that again.”

She could understand where Jared was coming from, but Donna was a firm believer in her theory that Jensen and Jared were meant to be together, so she wasn’t going to say anything that might sway Jared away from being with her son. “Yeah, I heard what happened between you two after you went off to college. Jensen was really broken up about you leaving without saying goodbye to him. I mean, he didn’t say it out loud, but his father and I could tell that he missed you. He actually left right after you did and stayed gone until the day your parents died.” Sighing, she added, “I know he’s sorry and that he still loves you, but really you just have to follow your heart, honey. It all comes down to the question of whether or not you’re still in love with Jensen.”

Was he still in love with Jensen? Well, if he really took the time to sit down and think about it, then yes, he was. But was that enough to be with him again even if there was the possibility of getting hurt like the last time? Jared wasn’t too sure about that. It was definitely something that he was going to have to think about. Until then though, maybe there was something he could do about Jensen following him around and all but stalking him. He knew if Jensen’s mother told him to stop, then the other man would really have no choice. “He’s like stalking me,” Jared explained. “He showed up at the coffee shop today and got into a fight with my boyfriend about who knows me better. I mean, not that I’m not flattered by the macho pissing contest, or anything, but I think Joe got mad about it.”

It was kind of funny that Jensen had been reduced to stalking Jared, but Donna could tell that the hazel-eyed man didn’t appreciate it. “Well, don’t you worry about that, honey,” she assured Jared with shake of her head. “I’ll tell Jensen to quit following you around and to quit bugging you while you’re with your boyfriend.” Although she had to admit that it was kind of cute that her son was getting all alpha on this new beau of Jared’s. It proved that her son actually was serious about being with Jared. He just had to give the younger man some space so Jared could realize that he wanted him too.

Just then, Megan walked into the room, practically throwing herself in Jared’s arms when her brother stood to greet her. She missed him so much and wished that he would just suck it up and live here with them, but that conversation hadn’t worked the last time, so she wasn’t even going to try now. Donna left shortly after Megan came into the kitchen to give the two of them some privacy, packing up the food that Jared hadn’t eaten in a to-go container and giving it to him to take home for later.

**~~**

A few hours after Jared left, Jensen finally came home, instantly going to Megan’s room to see if she’d made any progress on her parents’ case. “Hey, I got your text. What’d you find?” he asked, pulling up a chair behind her so he could see the screen too. He frowned when she pulled up confidential files from the police station, Jensen fixing her with his best big brother look. “Since when did you become a computer hacker?” he inquired, eyebrows raised as he waited for her answer. 

Megan wouldn’t go as far as to call herself a hacker, but she was flattered that Jensen thought so. “I’m not a hacker, necessarily,” Megan answered sheepishly. “I’ve just had Misha teach me a few things while he was in here one lunch break.” He could definitely be considered a hacker that was for sure. As far as Megan was concerned, he should be working for the FBI, or something. “Anyway…I was going through the crime scene reports and the autopsy report, and they couldn’t find any evidence that a werewolf did this. I mean, usually with werewolf attacks there’s saliva or hair at the scene, but there’s nothing on my parents’ bodies or in the house to suggest that a werewolf was anywhere near there.”

Rolling his eyes, Jensen mumbled under his breath how bad an influence Misha was on someone as good as Megan. Still, he had to admit that this was pretty cool. With Megan being able to get into confidential files like this, they should be able to look at things that the police could have potentially overlooked, which would help them find her parents’ killer. When Megan told Jensen her findings, he was definitely intrigued. “If a werewolf didn’t do this, then who the hell did? And more importantly, why would they want to frame it to look like a werewolf was responsible for it?”

Of course, he didn’t expect an answer, so when Megan merely shrugged her shoulders, it didn’t surprise him. “Well, keep working on the theory that this was done by something other than a werewolf. In the meantime, I’m going to head to Jared’s motel room to snoop. There’s just something about that douchebag that he’s with right now that’s rubbing me the wrong way.”

With that, Jensen headed to the kitchen where he planned on leaving through the back. However, before he even opened the door, his mother stopped him. “Just where do you think you’re going Jensen Ross Ackles?” she asked, raising her brow when Jensen turned to face her. “Have a seat. You and I need to have a chat.”

This was the last thing Jensen wanted to do, but there was no arguing with his mother. So, sighing deeply, Jensen moved to the table and sat in the chair farthest from her. She looked angry; that was never a good sign. He had a feeling that he was going to be in for a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

Jared sighed as he stared at his ceiling, wondering how the hell he was going to tell Joe that he still had feelings for Jensen. It wasn’t necessarily telling Joe that they were over – more like warning him that Jensen still held a big part of Jared’s heart. Oh hell, who was he kidding? It was basically telling Joe that no matter what he did, Jensen was always going to be the one for him, so there was really no point in them being together anymore. Well, he probably wouldn’t tell him that in so many words – he’d break it to him softly. Ultimately, the end result was going to be the same though.

Of course, Jared had to think of when the right moment would be. After all, just blurting it out over a causal cup of coffee wasn’t exactly the way to go. He needed to be smart about this because the last thing he wanted was to hurt Joe’s feelings. And it was no secret that Joe wasn’t a fan of werewolves – Jensen especially. So when Jared told him that he was leaving him for Jensen, he had no idea how Joe was going to react. If he had to guess, Jared would expect the other man to blow up. It had happened before – Joe had quite the temper, so Jared needed to be smart about this.

Right now though he had other things that he needed to worry about. Like work. His boss was really coming down on him to get his reports and paperwork finished, and he needed to focus on that. Luckily, the man had allowed Jared to bring his files home with him, so he could at least be comfortable where he worked. Grabbing the files, Jared headed out of the motel, intent on going to the coffee shop where he could get himself a steaming latte and get his mind back on the task at hand. Joe was working an extra shift at his job, so it wasn’t like he was going to miss him.

Besides, Jared was getting tired of sleeping in the same bed as Joe. The other man was always trying to engage Jared in sexual situations, and Jared wasn’t ready for that. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he was ever going to be ready to have sex with Joe. He was raised to believe that you were supposed to be with one partner for your whole life, and Joe wasn’t his partner. It was Jensen. Not that he was just going to automatically jump into Jensen’s bed once they were back together, but he wouldn’t say no if Jensen tried anything.

Thankfully, Steve was working tonight, so Jared didn’t even have to give his order, the other man just knowing what he wanted and bringing it to Jared’s table. “Thanks, man,” he smiled, taking a sip of the burning liquid. That’s why he loved coming in when Steve was working – he knew exactly how Jared liked his latte. And with the night that he was looking at, he was definitely going to need a good latte to keep himself awake.

As soon as Jared left his motel, Jensen made his move. He’d been waiting outside (since his mother had allowed him to leave the kitchen) for the place to be empty so he could do some snooping. There was something off about Joe and Jensen was determined to figure out what it was. The man didn’t deserve to be with Jared if there was something wrong with him. Hell, Jensen didn’t think he deserved to be with Jared even if there wasn’t something wrong with him, but Jared seemed to like him at least a little bit, so he was willing to give Joe the benefit of the doubt – kind of.

Once in the room, Jensen immediately started to do some digging. It was easy to tell which side of the room was Jared’s and which side was Joe’s – he could smell Jared all over the right side of the room. So, naturally he moved to the left side and started rummaging through anything he could find, starting with the dresser. Unfortunately, he didn’t find anything, and move on to the closet instead.

That’s where he hit the mother lode. There was a trunk in the bottom of the closet that looked suspicious. He quickly pulled it from its hiding place and snapped the lock, not caring that he was leaving evidence that someone was here. All he cared about was what was inside the trunk. If it had a padlock on it, then he figured that it meant something inside here was worth protecting – and you could never trust a man who kept secrets locked inside a trunk.

At first, Jensen thought that he’d been wrong, but a scent caught his attention. Faintly, at the crime scene he remembered smelling something similar. It had just been in passing, Jensen not really paying much attention to it at the time, but now his interest was piqued. It was a werewolf definitely, but there was something strange about it – the smell was tainted. Whoever this scent belonged to wasn’t a werewolf by blood. This person had been bitten and turned.

Reaching for an article of clothing he found in the trunk, Jensen looked at the tag, noticing that the shirt was a large. That was too small for both Jared and Joe, so it was obvious this particular shirt didn’t belong to either men living in this motel at the time. And Jensen couldn’t ignore the smell of blood on the clothing. Whoever this stuff belonged to had been the murderer. Jensen would have been able to tell the scent of Sharon and Gerald Padalecki’s blood anywhere after being at that crime scene. 

Now that he knew whoever wore these clothes had been at the Padalecki’s house – had likely been the cause of their deaths – Jensen wasn’t going to stop until he had some answers. Continuing to search through the trunk, Jensen found a few photos of a man he didn’t recognize standing with Joe, as well as a journal. As much as he wanted to sit down and read the journal, he had no idea how long he would have before Joe came home, and he didn’t want to risk it, so he tucked it into his jacket before putting the trunk back where he got it. 

There was just one more thing that he needed to do before he left, and that was marking his territory. If Joe was confused about who Jared belonged to, Jensen would make it a little clearer for him. And since Jensen wasn’t allowed to follow Jared around anymore, he needed something to let Joe in on the facts. Moving to Jared’s side of the room, Jensen flung open his closet door and took inventory of Jared’s clothing. 

He had a lot to work with here. Smiling, he moved into the closet, rubbing himself against Jared’s clothes and then scenting them to make sure that it took. Sure, Joe wouldn’t be able to smell Jensen’s particular scent on them, but he’d be able to smell Jensen’s cologne, and that was enough for him. Once he’d gone over every article of clothing Jared had, he grabbed one of the hoodies that Jared wore almost every day and tossed it on the floor, dropping to the ground with it before he started rolling around on top of the hoodie. 

What he did next was one of the most inappropriate, primal things a werewolf could do, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, Jensen had gotten Jared this hoodie anyway, so if he wanted to mark it, then he would. Unzipping his jeans, Jensen urinated all over the hoodie, smiling smugly to himself. Sure, there was the likely possibility that Jared was going to get mad at him and probably scream at him, but Jensen didn’t care. It would all be worth it to see the look on Joe’s face when he realized that Jensen wasn’t backing off.

Finished with his task of proving who Jared belonged to, Jensen headed out of the motel and jogged back to his place. He planned on locking himself up in his room and reading the journal, but that didn’t happen when he was grabbed by Christian and Misha and dragged to the bar to have drinks and get caught up on each other’s lives. Oh well, Jensen could read the journal later.

**~~**

When Jared got home, he was exhausted. He just wanted to curl up on the lumpy mattress in the motel and catch a few hours of sleep before he had to meet Megan like he had promised. However, when he got home, Jared was met with an angry boyfriend instead of a warm bed. The motel was a mess, and Joe looked like he was about to explode with anger. “Joe, what the hell happened here?” Jared asked, frowning at the other man.

“Maybe you should ask that sonuvabitch ex-boyfriend of yours, Jared!” Joe spat, advancing on the younger man. “He was in here. I know he was!” Anger was rolling off him in waves as he thought about the journal that had been stolen out of his trunk. If Jensen had taken the journal, he would know the truth about what had happened to the Padalecki family, and he couldn’t let that happen.

A deep frown came to Jared’s lips when Joe accused Jensen of being here. “Jensen couldn’t have been here,” Jared assured Joe with a shake of his head. “No one was home. How could he even have gotten in?” Of course, it wasn’t a far leap to believe that Jensen could have broken in, but Jared just didn’t understand why he would have done something like that. 

Angrily, Joe moved towards Jared once more, gripping the young man’s upper arms and giving him a shake. “I don’t know how he got in or what he was here for, but I know that he was!” Joe shouted. “He broke into my trunk and pissed on your hoodie! Don’t you get it Jared?! He’s fucking with us!”

Why Jensen would break in to Joe’s trunk was way beyond him, but he didn’t really have time to process that because his mind was wrapped around the fact that Jensen had pissed on his hoodie. “Joe, I’m sure that it wasn’t Jensen. It just…doesn’t seem like something he would do. Maybe it was someone else. You’re just…overreacting. Calm down, and we can talk about this.”

The only answer Jared received was a hook to the jaw, knocking the younger man back into the wall. Blood trickled from Jared’s nose as he stared at Joe in horror. He’d never shown violence towards Jared, but if he thought that was something Jared was going to put up with, he was wrong. Without saying a word, Jared grabbed his cell phone off the table where he’d laid it and left the room.

He had no idea where he was going, but he found himself outside of Jensen’s house about an hour later. Jared knew that whatever happened, he would be welcomed here with open arms because this was his family. Knocking on the door, Jared waited for an answer, smiling softly when Donna opened the door. “Hey,” he smiled. “I, um…was wondering if I could stay here for a little while. Joe and I just got into a big fight and I…I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Without hesitation, Donna ushered Jared into the house, frowning as she tilted his chin upwards towards the light so she could see the damage Joe had caused. Jensen was going to be pissed when he saw this. “Oh honey, are you all right?” Donna asked, reaching into the freezer and grabbing an ice pack for Jared’s face. “Do you want me to go over there and beat some sense into that pompous head of his?”

Although Jared would have loved to see Donna kick Joe’s ass, he merely shook his head, taking the offered ice pack and putting it on his jaw. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary,” he assured the older woman with another smile. “Um…I just need somewhere to stay while I get my head clear, if that’s all right.” There was no doubt in his mind that he was breaking up with Joe after that performance, but he would need time to get all of his stuff from the motel and move it in here if Donna allowed him to stay.

“Of course you can stay here,” Donna replied. “I actually insist upon it.” There was just one problem. She didn’t have any extra rooms. Megan had taken Josh’s room because he was away at college, and the guest room had all of their old junk in it. They were basically using it for storage and it was going to take more than a day to clear everything out. “You don’t mind taking the couch, do you sweetie? Megan took the last available spare room in the house, so we’re out of beds.”

Before Jared could answer, Jensen walked into the house and insisted, “He can stay in my room.” He’d been listening to the conversation since Jared got there, but his mother had taken Jared into the house before Jensen could make his presence known. Moving closer to the younger man, Jensen took Jared’s hand in his own removing the ice pack from his face so he could get a better look at the damage. His blood boiled when he saw the bruise already forming and the split in Jared’s lip.

When Jensen spoke, Jared jumped slightly, the younger man not having known Jensen was even here. He tried to protest when Jensen took his hand off the bruise on his face, but Jensen wasn’t having any part of it, so Jared just frowned and let him look. “It’s not that bad,” Jared assured Jensen when he saw the older man’s eyes darken with anger. “I barely even felt it. And it looks a lot worse than it really is.”

Jensen didn’t care if it looked worse than it actually was. What he did care about was that Joe had raised his hand to Jared. That wasn’t okay. Not at all. “C’mon Jay, let’s get you to bed,” Jensen suggested, taking Jared by the elbow and leading him towards the stairs. It had been a long day for the dark haired man clearly, and Jensen was beat too, so bed seemed like the best option. 

Bed sounded like something Jared could definitely get on board with. He felt like he hadn’t slept in days, although he’d just caught a few hours the night before. Between Joe and work, Jared felt like he had been pulled off in too many different directions. But now, Jared was done with Joe – no questions about it. After the other man had hit him, Jared wasn’t giving him any more chances. They’d already been on thin ice because of the comments he always made about the Ackles’, and now they were definitely finished.

Once Jensen had Jared in his bedroom, he led him to the bed and all but forced the younger man to sit down. He then moved to the dresser where he grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms and tossed them at Jared. “Here, those are yours. I mean, they’re from four years ago when you brought them over because you were trying to get your parents let you stay here, but they should still fit,” Jensen explained with a small nod. 

Honestly, when Jensen handed him the pajamas, Jared almost couldn’t believe it. Jensen had kept those for all these years – that had to mean something, right? Well, of course it did – he already knew that Jensen had loved him this whole time, so he didn’t know why he was so surprised. Jensen had come right out and said it. Maybe it was the overwhelming excitement of the day that was making Jared feel this way. Regardless of what it was that was making him emotional, it didn’t change the fact that he was. “You kept these?” he asked, eyes locked on Jensen. “All these years, and you’ve kept these?”

A small frown came to Jensen’s lips when Jared got all teary-eyed about him keeping the pajamas. “Well, you weren’t here to give them back,” he explained with a small shrug. “You left without telling me, remember?” Jensen hadn’t wanted to let anyone know how upset he was about that, but even now, thinking about it did kind of sting a bit. Thinking about all of those years they could have been together hurt him a lot.

Frowning, Jared gave Jensen a small nod. “Yeah, I remember,” he assured the older man. He’d been pissed off about Jensen not wanting to turn him and he’d lashed out by leaving the other man without a word. It had just been easier that way. And he thought he was doing Jensen a favor by not saying goodbye. As far as he had known, Jensen hadn’t wanted to see him again. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, his eyes locking with Jensen’s. “I shouldn’t have asked you to turn me that night. I should have just kept my mouth shut and stayed here. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you over the last four years. And…if I’d have stayed here, maybe my parents wouldn’t have been—”

Not wanting Jared to finish that sentence – to blame himself for his parents’ deaths, Jensen surged forward and locked their lips together, his hand cupping Jared’s cheeks as he maneuvered the younger man’s head any way he wanted it. This hadn’t been the plan when he offered to let Jared sleep in his room, but this was where it was going, and Jensen wasn’t going to stop it. After all, it was no secret that he wanted Jared still. And if the way Jared was moaning and wrapping his arms around Jensen’s shoulders was any indication, Jared wanted him too.

As the kiss continued, Jared’s fingers fisted in Jensen’s hair, pulling the older male closer to him as he scooted back on the bed. Luckily, Jensen got the hint and climbed onto the bed with him so Jared wasn’t ripping his hair out. He knew that they couldn’t have sex but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get off. They’d done it before and Jared was obviously willing to do it again because he was already as hard as a rock with Jensen lying in the V of his legs like this.

The position they were in right now brought back so many memories for Jensen. He and Jared had lay like this so many times before they broke up and he missed it. God, he’d missed it so fucking much. He’d just missed Jared. And now that he had the opportunity to have him again, he wasn’t going to let that just slip away. There was a time when Jared had loved him so much he’d wanted to become a werewolf so they could be together forever and Jensen had blown it. Now, he wanted that back, dammit.

Slowly, Jensen broke the kiss, his lips sliding along Jared’s cheek and down to his neck, kissing and sucking at the sensitive flesh there. And Jared was so compliant, turning his head to the side, offering Jensen better access. How could Jensen resist the younger man when Jared was acting this way? His hands slid up under Jared’s shirt, pushing the fabric with them as he allowed his lips to move to the newly exposed flesh, sucking on Jared’s nipple.

Jared couldn’t think beyond his want for Jensen. He didn’t know why they couldn’t have sex at the moment, and he wanted to. Jared wanted Jensen to fuck him so hard he’d feel him for days. But there was a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that for some reason, they couldn’t go all the way. His hips bucked off the bed insistently, rubbing his growing hard on against Jensen’s abdomen. It wasn’t enough though – his jeans weren’t letting him get enough friction. “J-Jen, please?” Jared begged, not really knowing what exactly he was asking for, just knowing that he wanted something more. “God, please…I need…”

He knew what Jared needed, but he couldn’t give it. At least not completely, anyway. But he could give the younger man something. And he wasn’t talking about just them rubbing against each other like they had done when they were horny teenagers; he could give Jared something better. They were adults now, after all. “Shhh…baby, it’s okay,” Jensen whispered against Jared’s skin, pulling back to look into the wanton man’s eyes as he gave his head a small nod. “I know exactly what you need.”

Pulling back, Jensen gripped Jared’s shirt where it had ridden up, stripping it off the younger man. He was grateful that Jared sat up to make his task easier, but he wanted Jared on his back for this, so he shoved him back onto the mattress as soon as the offending fabric was gone. Slowly, he kissed a trail down Jared’s torso, only taking a moment to lavish attention to Jared’s hard nipples. Once he reached the waistband of Jared’s jeans, Jensen popped the button and tucked his thumbs into the belt loops, yanking the fabric down off Jared’s hips to reveal his lover’s hard cock.

They’d never gone this far before. Hell, as far as Jensen knew, Jared was still a virgin, but he needed this – they both did, Jensen could tell. After all of the years they’d been apart and now everything that happened with not only his parents, but Joe, Jensen could tell that Jared needed the reminder that he wasn’t alone. He needed to be reminded that Jensen still loved him and he wasn’t ever going to stop. Climbing off the bed, Jensen dragged Jared’s pants down his thighs and pulled them completely off, tossing them into the corner with Jared’s shirt.

Jared’s boxers followed, adding to the growing pile of clothing in the room. It was obvious that Jared was a little confused, and a little uncomfortable, so Jensen started stripping out of his own clothes, not stopping until he was completely naked in front of Jared. He watched as the beautiful young man sat up on the bed, legs spread wide as he waited for Jensen’s next move. When their eyes met, it was over, Jensen quickly moving to crush their lips together once more as he pushed Jared back onto the mattress, his body blanketing the younger man’s.

This was all happening so fast. Jared didn’t know what Jensen wanted from him, and he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to give it. After all, Jared was still a human and it was next to impossible for them to have sex because of Jensen’s knot. And then there was that pesky little fact that Jared was still a virgin and he wasn’t planning on losing his virginity to someone he wasn’t sure he was going to be with forever. Sure, he wanted to be with Jensen for the rest of his life, but there was no guarantee that was going to happen. Still, he knew that he wanted this – wanted Jensen, so he would just let this play out for now.

As Jensen broke the kiss once more, he started sliding down Jared’s body again, sucking at the taut flesh over Jared’s abdomen before he nuzzled against the patch of hair just above Jared’s cock. He took a moment to lick a stripe over Jared’s sensitive shaft before sliding down further, sucking one of Jared’s balls into his mouth before moving to do the same with its twin. Once he was finished with that, Jensen moved further still, tongue sliding over Jared’s perineum, sucking at the flesh once more before he finally reached his destination. Smiling softly, Jensen swiped his tongue over Jared’s puckered hole, breathing out a soft chuckle when his lover gasped softly in surprise.

Holy fucking hell, Jared couldn’t believe this was happening. “J-Jen,” Jared panted softly, giving his head a small shake as he looked down at Jensen between his legs. “I-I don’t…” he started, not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence. “I mean…I thought we couldn’t because of…you know…your knot.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want this, but he had done research and the result of a human trying to take a werewolf’s knot wasn’t a pretty sight. Jared didn’t want that to happen to him. No matter how much he wanted Jensen right now.

“My tongue doesn’t have a knot that you have to worry about, baby,” Jensen chuckled softly as he gave his head a small shake. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Jared looked really scared at the thought of them having sex – not that Jensen was actually aiming for that – but if sex scared Jared like this, maybe Jensen should have just backed off. Pulling away slightly, Jensen explained, “I didn’t want to have sex. I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I know we can’t. I was just gonna use my tongue.” Suddenly feeling a little unsure about his plan, Jensen asked, “Do-Do you not want that?”

Well, that took a little of the edge off. Now that Jared knew Jensen wasn’t aiming for something they both knew they couldn’t have, he felt a little better. “N-No, I do,” Jared assured Jensen, nodding adamantly. “I just…I’ve never…done anything like this before.” His cheeks burned bright red as he explained, “I’m still a virgin, Jen. I’ve been…waiting for the right person to come along. So…I’m just a little – well, I’m new at this.”

Some deep, possessive part of Jensen hummed at the idea of his mate still being a virgin. At least that was one thing in his life that hadn’t gone wrong. “M’not gonna hurt you,” he promised, giving his head a small shake. “Just wanna make you feel good.” Sure, a blow job could have done that too, but he wanted this; to be more intimate. And it wasn’t exactly like he was an expert in this area. The only time he had been with someone, it hadn’t been about pleasure – it had been about getting rid of the orgasm he had and that was it. With Jared, it was so much more than that.

Nodding, Jared added, “I know you’re not going to hurt me. You’d never hurt me. I trust you.” Jensen knew that – or at least he had when they’d been together four years ago. “I want you to do whatever you wanna do to me. I trust you completely, Jensen. You know that, right?”

Deep down, Jensen knew that Jared trusted him. Although Jensen didn’t think he deserved it. After all, he’d broken the kid’s heart when they had been together the first time because he was scared and to think that Jared could still trust him was just ridiculous. But yeah, he knew Jared did. Smiling softly, Jensen nodded, turning his head to press a kiss to Jared’s thigh. “I know you do. And I’m gonna prove that you made the right decision in doing so.”

Without another word, Jensen surged forward, teeth scraping against Jared’s left ass cheek before he moved to do the same to the other side. Slowly, he pressed his thumbs between Jared’s cheeks and spread them, licking his lips as he stared at the quivering pink hole. _His_ – Jared was all his. That knowledge had him groaning possessively as he moved forward, licking over Jared’s entrance, tasting his young lover in his most intimate place.

At the first lick, Jared moaned in surprise, his body tensing on instinct. He’d never done anything like this before, and it felt weird. But…in a good way. As Jensen continued, Jared let himself relax once more, biting into his bottom lip to keep from screaming in pleasure. After all, Jensen’s parents were only a few doors down, and his sister was just on the other side of the hall. And he had to remember that Megan was flitting about the house somewhere too. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea now that he was thinking about it. But it was already done – Jensen had started, and Jared wanted him to finish.

When Jared started to relax against him, Jensen couldn’t help the small smile that came to his lips. Quickly, he pushed Jared’s legs up off the bed and tossed them over his shoulders so he could have better access, pointing his tongue and letting it dart inside the younger man’s body, moaning softly at the musky taste of Jared. He pushed his tongue in as far as he could, using his saliva to slick his way.

Slowly, Jensen allowed his hand to slide upwards, fingers playing over Jared’s thighs before he reached his mark. His hand wrapped around Jared’s dick, giving it a gentle squeeze before he allowed his hand to move, using Jared’s precum to slick his way. Hearing Jared moaning had a small smile coming to Jensen’s lips, the older man glad that he was making his young lover feel so good. Jared didn’t even have to touch him – Jensen was already as hard as a rock just listening to the noises he was eliciting from Jared.

Everything Jensen was doing to him felt fucking amazing. He’d never been touched so intimately in his life, and it felt amazing. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Jensen doing it – when Jensen did things to him, it always seemed to feel better than when others did the same thing. Like when Jensen kissed him, Jared felt it more than when Joe kissed him. Sure, he knew that this was wrong – technically, he was still with Joe because he hadn’t verbally told the other man that they were over, but his heart belonged to Jensen and there was nothing he could do about that.

It didn’t take long after Jensen got into a rhythm before Jared felt his balls drawing up close to his body, heat pooling low in his belly. “J-Jen…” he breathed, biting into his bottom lip as he looked down at the older man between his legs. “M’gonna come, Jensen. Oh God…babe, please…”

Before he could say another word, Jared came hard, his back arching off the bed, pushing his ass back against Jensen’s face as a result. Jensen didn’t stop rimming him until writhing man’s orgasm subsided. Only then did Jensen pull his head back, smiling up at the gorgeous man as he licked his lips, crawling up the bed so he was face to face with Jared once more. “Mmm…you’re so fucking sexy when you come,” Jensen complimented, fingers pushing Jared’s long bangs out of his face.

“You should let me return the favor,” Jared suggested, already moving to shove Jensen onto his back, though he was stopped by the older man. Frowning in confusion, Jared cocked his head to the side, wondering why Jensen wouldn’t want him to do this for him. After all, he may not have been a pro at giving blow jobs, but he’d watched a few videos. He got the gist of it, anyway.

Jensen gave his head a small shake; there was no need for Jared to return the favor. “M’good,” he assured, looking down at his spent cock, his own come coating his inner thighs and the sheets at the end of the bed. “You already took care of me with those dirty little sounds you were making.” Gripping Jared’s hair, Jensen pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. “You’re so hot, Jay. You have no fucking idea what you do to me, do you?”

He had some kind of an idea, actually. “Nothing more than you do to me,” he assured his lover. “I’m just returning the favor.” Smiling, he curled up against Jensen, head resting on the older man’s chest, right over his heart. “M’tired. Should go to sleep now,” he suggested, not even caring that they were both covered in the evidence of their pleasure. They could get in the shower later and clean themselves up.

Without giving it a thought, Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared, holding his lover close. “Yeah, should get some sleep,” he agreed. After the workout he’d just had, he was definitely tired. And having Jared in his arms enabled him to fall asleep a lot faster than he had in the previous nights. God, he’d missed this so damn much. But now that he had Jared back, he was going to do everything in his power to keep him right where he belonged.

**~~**

A few hours after he’d fallen asleep, Jared’s phone buzzed, signaling that he had a new text message. Frowning sleepily at the phone, Jared grabbed it and slid the lock on the screen to view it. Another frown came to his lips when he realized that it was from Joe. _Jared, I’m so sorry that I hit you, sweetheart. Please, let me explain myself. Meet me at the old abandoned warehouse you told me about that you would go to and collect your thoughts when you were upset. I’ll make this up to you, I swear. I love you, Jared._

Although he had no intention of forgiving Joe or getting back together with him, Jared assumed that he owed Joe a face-to-face conversation when he broke up with him. Sighing, he worked his way out of Jensen’s arms, making sure not to wake the other man. Jensen didn’t have to know about this. Quickly, Jared cleaned himself up in the bathroom before he got dressed and headed out the door, walking in the direction of the warehouse.


	6. Chapter 6

The warehouse was completely dark when Jared got there, causing the dark-haired man to frown deeply. If Joe wanted to meet him here, Jared couldn’t imagine why he would want to meet him in the dark. But he wasn’t going to worry about it too much, walking into the warehouse and closing the door behind him. His hand slid along the wall, searching for the light switch and flicking it on as soon as he brushed against it. Joe was sitting on a chair in the middle of the empty room, his back turned towards Jared, his shoulders rising and falling with each slow breath he took.

Something wasn’t right here. Jared could feel it. But he shoved the feeling down because he owed this to Joe. If he was going to break it off, he was going to do it right. “Joe?” he started, licking his lips as he moved further into the room, moving towards the chair so he could talk to the other man without having to stare at the back of his head. “I’m here,” Jared explained. “You wanted to talk to me about something?”

Slowly, Joe turned his head so he could look at Jared, standing from his seat and stalking closer to the younger man. He frowned deeply when he saw the bruise on Jared’s cheek – the bruise he’d put there. “I loved you,” he assured Jared in a low voice. “We were fine until we came back here. Until we came back here and that fucking _werewolf_ started sniffing around you.” He’d never told Jared why he hated werewolves so much, but he thought that now was a pretty good time to come clean. After all, Jared wasn’t going to be leaving the warehouse tonight. Joe couldn’t allow that. If he couldn’t have Jared, then no one could.

“His name is Jensen,” Jared grit out, taking a few steps back when Joe started advancing on him. “And I don’t care that he’s a werewolf. I don’t have a problem with werewolves like you do.” Standing a little straighter, Jared explained, “The only reason I came here tonight was to tell you in person that it’s over. I’m in love with Jensen – have been since I was a teenager. So you and I are done.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jared added, “Jensen and I are back together now. I’m sorry, but it’s over.”

Now, Jared was backed against the wall, a small gasp escaping his lips when he connected with the wall. This hadn’t been the plan. He was just supposed to come in and tell Joe that they were done before going back to Jensen’s place and sleeping in his arms again. Obviously, Joe had other plans, it seemed as he sneered in Jared’s face. “You love Jensen?” he asked, scoffing. “A werewolf? He’s probably the one who killed your parents. Like a rabid fucking dog – they turn on people they’re supposed to care about.”

Without thinking about it, Jared pulled his fist back and slammed it into Joe’s jaw. It was like his brain and his arm hadn’t even been connected and his arm worked on its own will. “Jensen would never do that!” he shouted, his chest rising and falling hard with each breath he took. “He loved my family! Hell, he was practically _part_ of my family. None of the Ackles’ would have hurt them!”

Anger was coming off Joe in waves as he grabbed Jared’s biceps and shoved him hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of the younger man’s lungs. “They’re not capable of love!” he hissed. “Do you want to know why I hate them so damn much, Jared? Because one of them turned my husband into a werewolf!” At Jared’s silence, Joe smirked, releasing Jared. “You didn’t know that did you? Well, it was Jensen’s fault. Mike had dated him before Jensen got with you. His scent was all over Mike, apparently, so one of Jensen’s enemies attacked my husband and then that same bastard who attacked him turned him! He thought that it would be funny to turn _Jensen’s human_ into a werewolf. It didn’t even matter that Mike wasn’t with him anymore, I guess.” 

Moving towards one of the back doors, Joe continued, “I knew who you were before you came into my life. I knew you were Jensen’s ex-boyfriend. The one that he loved too much to risk turning. So I flirted with you. I got on your good side and I made you have feelings for me. It was all leading up to this moment, Jay.” Joe quickly unlocked the door he was standing next to, frowning at Jared. “I think we could have gotten along just fine. We would have been together for a very long time if it hadn’t been for Jensen. Instead, this has to happen. I won’t let him have you again, Jared. If I can’t be with you, then no one can.” With that, Joe opened the door, releasing the werewolf that had been trapped in the room. 

Jared’s heart was pounding as the werewolf looked at him, his mouth smeared with blood and his clothing in tatters. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to outrun him, but if he moved slowly, there was a chance he could get to the door and get out before the werewolf knew what was going on. Of course, Jared knew that it was a long shot, but he was going to try. Unfortunately, Joe saw what he was doing and grabbed him, shoving him further into the room. Jared lost his balance and fell onto the ground, his hands scraping when they hit the cement. 

As soon as he hit the ground, Joe held him down, pressing his knee into the middle of Jared’s back and gripping the younger man’s hair, pulling his head back. “Jared, I’d like you to meet Mike – my husband.” Looking towards his husband, Joe explained, “He hasn’t been the same since that werewolf left him alone in the woods. He doesn’t want me anymore. All he wants is Jensen now, like he thinks that he’s supposed to be his mate, or something. So you’ll have to forgive him if he’s a little rough with you – it’s nothing personal. You just smell like Jensen.”

A deep growl from Mike had Joe moving off Jared, his body being replaced by Mike’s before Jared even had a chance to register that he was free. Claws raked down his back, tearing his shirt off in the process and leaving angry scratches over his flawless skin. Jared screamed in pain, struggling to get free only to have his pants ripped off as well, Mike holding him down more roughly as he tried to buck him off. However, instead of succeeding, it only made Mike angry, the wolf roughly clawing at Jared’s shoulders as he held him down.

He heard Mike hissing Jensen’s name as he breathed in Jared’s scent before he felt the werewolf’s dick growing hard against him. Now, Jared wasn’t too versed on feral werewolves, but he knew enough about them to know that he wouldn’t have wanted to meet one in a dark alley – or an abandoned warehouse where no one knew he was. He also knew that Mike obviously had feelings left for Jensen – some twisted part of his mind thinking that he and Jensen were meant to be mates – and Jared smelled like Jensen now. After all, he hadn’t showered after they came together; he’d only wiped himself off with a wet towel before he came here to meet Joe. Now, he was kicking himself for it.

Although he knew that it was probably pointless, he tried to talk to Mike – to reason with the other man in an attempt to get out of this in one piece. “Mike, please, listen to me. I’m not Jensen. My name is Jared,” he explained. “Jared Padalecki. Please…stop. You don’t want to hurt me.”

Just as Jared thought, Mike ignored him, rubbing his throbbing cock against Jared’s now bare ass. He howled loudly as he nuzzled into Jared’s neck, breathing in Jensen’s scent on his skin. His knot started to swell moments before he came all over Jared, the helpless man crying out in surprise and disgust. Jared almost couldn’t believe that Joe was doing this to him. Then again, the other man had punched him in the jaw a few hours earlier, so Jared supposed he didn’t really know the other man all that well.

Feeling Mike moving over him again, Jared squeezed his eyes closed just wanting it all to stop. He realized when he was about halfway here that he’d forgotten his cell phone, so he couldn’t even call anyone for help. Not that he could have gotten to his cell phone even if he’d had it with him, though. Mike had him pinned well. Still, he would have felt a little better with it in the warehouse. However, when he felt Mike trying to penetrate him, Jared completely forgot about not having his cell phone and started to struggle again. He was still a human, dammit! There was no way Jared could take a knot without getting severely injured. “No, Mike, don’t! I’m a human – you can’t do this!”

Only after did Jared realize his mistake. As soon as the words left his mouth, Mike growled in displeasure and sank his teeth into Jared’s shoulder, causing the younger man to scream out in pain. He could feel the sharp fangs digging into his flesh as Mike kept him in place, rubbing his dick in the crack of Jared’s ass, tears streaming down Jared’s cheeks. This was it. Jared was going to die here and he knew it. Closing his eyes, he prayed to whoever was listening that at least he would go quickly.

**~~**

Jensen groaned sleepily as he rolled over, frowning when he realized that he was alone in the bed. “Jared?” he grumbled in his sleep-heavy voice, pushing his upper half off the bed and turning towards the bathroom to see if Jared was in there. He wasn’t though, which had Jensen on edge. “Jay?” he called again, getting out of the bed completely this time. A buzzing noise caught Jensen’s attention then, and he grabbed Jared’s cell phone off the nightstand. A deep growl escaped him without even knowing it as he read the text message. Jared was _his_. He had him back now, and he wasn’t about to give him up. 

Angrily, Jensen tossed Jared’s phone onto the bed and started getting dressed, intent on going over to that warehouse and giving Joe a piece of his mind. Besides, he could feel there was something wrong. Jared wouldn’t have just gotten up in the middle of the night and left him in the bed alone without the intent of coming back. 

As soon as Jensen was out of his bedroom, Megan ran into him in her haste to get down the hall way. “Jensen, I was just coming to see you!” she said. She shoved papers against Jensen’s chest with a small frown on her face. “Did you know that Joe used to be married?” she asked, pointing towards the papers she’d shoved at him. “Mike Rosenbaum – it was said that he had been attacked by a werewolf and he was killed. But he wasn’t, Jensen. He was _turned_.”

At this new information, Jensen frowned deeply. That explained whose scent had been on the clothing covered in blood at Joe’s motel. Suddenly, the pieces all fit together in his head, and he felt fear grip his chest – fear for Jared. Handing the papers back to Megan, Jensen explained, “I have to go. I think Mike killed your parents and that he has Jared now. I’ve gotta go make sure your brother’s okay.”

“Wait, what?!” Megan asked, quickly turning on her heel to follow Jensen out of the room. “If he has Jared, then I’m coming with you!” she insisted, already grabbing her jacket and slipping into her sneakers. If he brother was in danger, Megan wanted to be there to protect him. After all, Jared would have done the same for her. And if this werewolf really had killed her parents, she wanted to be there when Jensen dished out a good old can of whoop ass on him. 

There was no way in Hell Jensen was letting Megan come with him. “No, I need to do this on my own,” he argued. “I can’t help Jared and worry about you too. Besides, if you come with me, you wouldn’t even be able to keep up. You’re better here. I’ll call you as soon as I find him.” Without giving her a chance to protest, Jensen left the house, taking off at a dead run towards the warehouse he knew Jared went to clear his head. He’d been there a couple of times with the younger man, after all. 

When he reached the warehouse, he knew something wasn’t right. Anger causing his body to shift on instinct, the need to protect his mate driving the change. His eyes glowed a bright emerald, his vision sharper, his sense of smell heightening. Fear and blood and Jared all mixed together, causing Jensen to see red. Without thinking about it, he shoved himself at the door, the heavy steel breaking under him without much effort. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joe coming towards him, but Jensen didn’t pay him much mind, his concentration focused solely on Jared in front of him. His lover was on the ground with a werewolf above him, trying to fucking _knot_ him, and his damn teeth in Jared’s shoulder – this was far from okay, and Jensen wasn’t going to let it continue. Without even looking at Joe, Jensen managed to shove him hard, claws swiping at him and scratching across the taller man’s face before Joe was on his ass, clutching at his cheek.

He didn’t care. All Jensen cared about was Jared. A loud, feral growl escaped him as he gripped Mike by the back of the neck and ripped him away from Jared, throwing him across the room and snarling at him as he put his body between Mike’s and Jared’s, the alpha daring Mike to come after his mate again. “ _Mine_ ,” Jensen growled deeply, his glowing eyes watching Mike’s every movement carefully, making sure he wasn’t going to try anything stupid.

Just as Jensen hoped he would, Mike saw that Jensen was an alpha and that he was pissed, the omega wolf whining low in his throat as he fell to his knees, submitting to Jensen. And Jensen would have accepted it if he couldn’t smell Jared’s blood all over this werewolf. Not to mention this was the same werewolf who had killed Jared’s parents – dear friends of Jensen and his family. This werewolf didn’t have a chance of surviving. Jensen wanted him to suffer, but he knew he didn’t have time for that. Joe was still on the floor cradling his face, but Jensen had no idea how much longer he was going to be there. 

Without giving it another thought, Jensen thrust his fist forward, his hand disappearing into Mike’s chest as the other wolf let out a pained howl, his back arching as Jensen ripped his hand out of his chest, Mike’s heart held firmly between his fingers. As Mike fell to the ground, blood pooling around him, Joe screamed, finally on his feet again, causing Jensen to turn towards the other man, growling as he protectively moved his body between Joe’s and Jared’s. He wasn’t going to let this man have his mate again.

Suddenly, Joe pulled out a gun, pointing it at Jensen and pulling the trigger. Jensen wasn’t sure if he was hit or not because rage overwhelmed him, his body moving on its own and ripping the gun from Joe’s hand, snapping the bone at the wrist without even meaning to. Normally, Jensen wouldn’t have hurt this man, but he was a threat to his mate, and Jensen couldn’t allow someone like that to live. So, with one swipe of his clawed hand, Jensen ripped into the flesh of Joe’s neck, severing main arteries without a second thought.

Once Joe was on the ground, his body unmoving, Jensen moved to Jared once more, sliding on his knees and rolling Jared onto his back, taking his own jacket off and wrapping it around his mate to cover his nakedness. “Jay?” Jensen asked, hands that were human once more cupping Jared’s cheeks and forcing him to look into his jade green eyes. “Jay, baby, please, talk to me.” He could tell that Jared was in shock, too much blood being lost and his body waiting for the other half of the ritual so it could complete its transition. That was the last thing Jensen wanted for Jared, though – it was too dangerous.

But he knew his lover wasn’t going to make it unless the ritual was completed. Jensen had been too late. “Oh God baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks as he pressed his forehead to Jared’s. The younger man was still breathing, but it was shallow, so Jensen knew he didn’t have much time. Quickly, with shaking hands, Jensen reached over to the pool of blood around Mike’s body and coated his fingers in the sticky mess, pressing them to Jared’s lips and forcing them past his teeth to rub the blood over Jared’s tongue. “Drink it, baby. It’s the only way to save you.”

When Jared’s body started to convulse under him, Jensen held him down, turning his head to the side so if Jared vomited, it would leave his mouth instead of go back down his throat and choke him. It felt like it lasted forever, but in reality, it was only a few seconds. Once Jared’s body was still again, Jensen picked the younger man up as though he weighed nothing and carried him out of the warehouse, ignoring the strange pain that shot through his side when he moved too quickly. 

He arrived at the hospital in record time, his eyes locking on Jim Beaver, the head surgeon and a family friend of the Ackles’. “Jim,” he breathed, his voice low and pained as he looked down at Jared in his arms. The younger man was pale and Jensen could feel his breathing starting to slow with each passing second. “I need help. Jared, he…he was attacked. I don’t know – he’s dying! Please, help me!”

As soon as a gurney was placed in front of him, Jensen gently laid Jared down onto it, his eyes ticking up to Jim before they went back to Jared. “Please, you have to help him,” he rambled, shoving the nurses hand off him when she tried to explain something that Jensen couldn’t even hear. “You don’t understand!” he shouted, surprised as he felt his own energy start to drain out of him. “He was attacked by a werewolf! He’s in transition, Jim! You can’t let him die! I _need_ him! He’s _mine_!”

It was Jim who finally got Jensen to realize the severity of the situation. “Jensen, you need to get on that gurney over there now!” he hollered, slapping the younger man across the face to get his attention. “You’ve been shot. You’re losing a lot of blood and we don’t know how long the silver has had to poison your system. I’ll fix Jared, but you have to let us fix you, too! If you don’t make it through this, then neither will Jared!”

Jensen didn’t have time to process the words clearly before he looked down at his side, the blood dripping onto the floor and drenching his clothing. He had been hit when Joe fired off the shot, but the adrenaline of needing to save Jared made him not even realize it. “Save him,” were the last words Jensen got out before his world went black, his body hitting the floor as the hospital staff sprang into action.

**~~**

His head was pounding and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth as he woke, Jensen groaning softly as he turned his head towards the annoying beeping noise that was sounding through the room. His eyes widened when he saw Jared in the bed next to him, hooked up to wires and machines that Jensen had no clue what they were for, but not liking it one bit. Yanking his own wires off, Jensen climbed out of the bed, hissing when pain shot through his torso, though he ignored it in favor of going to Jared. He could hear the machines going off like crazy and a nurse came in to see if he was all right, but he shooed her away. Right now, he wanted to be with Jared alone.

The scent of the younger man washed over him at the first step and Jensen collapsed into the chair beside Jared’s bed, griping his lover’s hand. He was pale and he had dark circles over his eyes – if Jensen wasn’t so worried about Jared, he would have laughed because the young man looked kind of like a raccoon. “Jay,” he breathed softly, fingers of his free hand carding through Jared’s hair, pushing his bangs off Jared’s forehead. “Baby, c’mon, I’m up. That means you gotta wake up, too, okay?”

Of course, there was no response, which only had Jensen’s heart pounding in his chest. “Jared,” he called again, this time using his alpha voice. “Wake up, dammit. You’re a werewolf now. You know what that means, don’t you? Sure, you do. You’re a geek and you researched all about it, didn’t you baby?” His fingers caressed over Jared’s cheeks as he continued, “It means you and I can be mates now. There’s nothing stopping us. You’re a werewolf now; you can take my knot without a problem. Hell, you’ll be begging for it as soon as you wake up.”

“Could we please not talk about your knot when I’m wearing a hospital gown?” Jared asked, his eyes still closed although there was a small smile on his lips. “Everyone’s going to be able to see how hard you’re making me with that filthy little mouth of yours.” Blinking his eyes open, Jared reached up and cupped Jensen’s face. “I’ve been up since yesterday,” he explained. “You’re the one who was sleeping in.”

Relief flooded through Jensen’s system when Jared’s eyes opened, his beautiful hazel orbs the most amazing thing Jensen had ever seen. It was clear that the younger man was werewolf now, and he was the most beautiful thing Jensen had ever laid eyes on. “I don’t care,” he teased right back, the idea of everyone knowing how hard Jared was because of him actually making his own cock twitch. “How are you feeling?”

Nodding, Jared explained, “I’m okay. A little sore, but other than that, I’m fine.” Jim had already explained everything about his recovery to him while Jensen was sleeping, but he had a feeling Jensen was going to go over it again. Hell, Jared was practically healed already. Unfortunately, he was an unclaimed omega, and he would have to be that way for the next five days at least until Jensen was able to get his stitches out. That was the part that frightened Jared the most.

Again, Jensen was relieved to hear that Jared was fine. “Good. Are they giving you pain medicine, or anything? Has Jim come in here to talk to you?” Jensen fired off two questions at once, just making sure that his lover was going to be fine. If there was even the slightest chance that something was going to happen to Jared, he was going to flip out.

A small chuckle escaped Jared as Jensen fawned over him like a worried mother hen. “Jensen, I’m fine. Jim already came in to talk to me, and they’re giving me plenty of pain medicine. What about you? Jim’s gonna be pissed when he comes in here and you’re out of your bed.”

Almost as if the older man could read minds, Jim came into the room and frowned at Jensen. “What are you doing out of your bed?” he asked, his brow arching as he looked at the defiant werewolf. “If you rip open your stitches boy, I’m not going to give you any anesthesia before I have to put them back in.”

Although Jensen was pretty sure Jim wouldn’t do that, he stood to his full height, not making a move to get back into his bed. “I’m fine. I’m not going to rip out my stitches. I just want to go home. And I want to take Jared with me. He’s not safe here.” At the moment, his mate was an unmated omega, and Jensen couldn’t let him stay here and run the risk of another alpha coming along and trying to knot him. “We want to leave now.”

Honestly, there was no reason for either one of them to stay here. Due to Jared now being a werewolf, his body was already healed, and Jensen only had stitches that he needed to worry about, so Jim nodded. “I’ll get your paperwork. But Jensen, I have to tell you that those stitches have to be in for five days, if not longer. You can’t…do anything strenuous while they’re in, if you get what I’m telling you.”

His face turned a bright shade of pink when Jim explained his discharge instructions. “I know that!” he griped, shoving at Jared’s hand playfully when the younger man giggled – actually _giggled_ at his reaction. “I can wait the five days as long as he’s in my house where he’s safe from other alphas who might get the idea that they can have him.”

Again, Jim nodded, letting Jensen know that he understood where Jensen was coming from. As promised, he got Jensen and Jared the paperwork to release them and Jensen had Jared tucked into his bed within two hours. His parents had doted over their health for a good forty-five minutes before Jensen finally dragged Jared to his bedroom where he could get him comfortable. “Rest up, baby,” he instructed, crawling into the bed with the young man. “As soon as these stitches come out, you’re mine.”

**~~**

Five days seemed to take forever to roll by, but Jensen was finally on his way home after getting his stitches out and his skin was itching. He was finally going to be able to claim Jared as his once and for all. There was nothing that could separate them now. When he got into the house, he growled low at Megan and Mackenzie when they tried to stop him from reaching his bedroom, both girls giggling as they left the house; neither one wanted to be there when their brother’s claimed each other.

Jensen didn’t even say anything to Jared when he walked into the room, his eyes flashing when he realized his mate was already naked for him. Quickly, he stripped out of his own clothes, moving to the bed and crushing his lips against Jared’s, his hips rolling downwards against Jared’s, rubbing their achingly hard cocks together.

“Ungh…Jensen,” Jared moaned as he arched his back, pressing his body closer to his lover’s. He wasn’t sure about having sex with Jensen so soon after he got his stitches out, but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining. He assumed that Jim had given the older man the okay, after all. Jared loved it when Jensen got like this – all horny and just took what he wanted from Jared. After all, it wasn’t like Jared was resisting him. If anything, Jared was trying to get more of what Jensen was offering as his fingers carded through the short strands of Jensen’s hair, pushing Jensen’s head against his chest harder, making sure the older man didn’t move until Jared was ready for him to. Sure, his nipples weren’t as sensitive as Jensen’s, but he loved it when Jensen lavished attention to the nubs until they pebbled under his ministrations. 

A small smile came to Jensen’s lips when he heard Jared moaning. He loved it when Jared made those sounds. And he loved it even more that he was the one who’d made those noises come from Jared’s mouth. With everything that had been going on lately in their lives, Jensen and Jared deserved this – hell, they needed this, so Jensen wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, they did have something to celebrate.

It had been five days since Jared became a werewolf and Jensen was going to finally claim him as his mate. No other werewolf was going to be able to touch him because they would be together. Finally, after years of waiting, Jensen and Jared were going to get what they wanted, and there was nothing that could stop them now. Not when he was buried so deep inside Jared that he couldn’t tell where he ended and Jared began; and it was fucking amazing. He wouldn’t have given up this feeling for anything.

As Jensen snapped his hips forward, Jared moaned once more, his back arching again, hands scrabbling for purchase on Jensen’s back, pulling the older man closer to him. Jensen didn’t seem to mind that his short blunt nails were digging into his shoulder blades, so Jared didn’t care either, pushing his hips back against Jensen’s, meeting his lover’s every thrust. His legs came up to wrap around Jensen’s waist, the muscles in his thighs working to pull Jensen impossibly closer. “J-Jen…please?” Jared moaned softly, not even sure what he was asking for, just knowing that he wanted _something_. Again, Jared’s fingers carded through Jensen’s hair, pulling his lover into a deep, passionate kiss.

When the kiss broke, both men were panting, Jensen smiling down at Jared before he brushed their lips together once more. “What do you need, baby?” he asked softly against Jared’s mouth, hips rolling against Jared’s ass before he gave another small thrust. “Anything – all you have to do is ask. You know that.” Smiling once more, Jensen dipped his head and began to kiss, nip, and suck his way down Jared’s neck before he sunk his teeth into Jared’s shoulder, leaving possessive marks which he quickly lapped at to ease the sting of his bite. “Tell me what you want, Jay,” he whispered softly as he crushed their lips together again.

If he knew what he wanted, Jared would have told Jensen in a heartbeat. But he just wasn’t sure. All he knew was that Jensen was making him feel so damn good, and it had been so damn long since they’d been like this. Jared was going to come soon, and there was nothing that either one of them could do to stop it. Well, he was sure if Jensen squeezed his dick hard enough, his erection would wilt, but he didn’t think the older man would even think about doing something like that. “Oh God, Jenny…m’gonna come,” he warned minutes before he tossed his head back and shouted as his orgasm slammed through him.

Watching Jared come was like Jensen’s personal porn video. The way the younger man’s eyes squeezed closed and how he clenched his teeth – it was all so perfect and so hot. Jensen couldn’t get enough of it. Sometimes, he just wanted to lie in bed with Jared all day long and make his beautiful lover come over and over again so he could see his face – watch his reactions to the pleasure Jensen was giving him. However, when Jared’s inner muscles clenched around his cock and Jared’s spunk splashed against his belly, Jensen could only think about the pleasure washing through his own body as his orgasm slammed into him. His knot swelled, tying him and Jared together as his cock pumped his seed into his mate.

Luckily, Jensen remembered to roll off Jared before he collapsed onto the bed, chest heaving with his panted breaths as he came down from his post-orgasmic high. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips when Jared snuggled back against his chest, Jared’s arm pulling Jensen’s own arm around his waist and tangling their fingers together. It would be a while before his knot deflated, and he was more than happy to just lie here with Jared – with his mate. God, he was never going to be able to say that enough.

“I love you, Jensen,” Jared mumbled softly as his eyes closed, the younger man knowing they could be here for a while. He was going to get some sleep because as soon as they were both able to, Jared was going to have Jensen make love to him again.

Smiling, Jensen held the younger man closer to him once more, his cock pumping more come into his mate. “I love you too, Jay. Get some sleep, baby,” he whispered, lips skimming along Jared’s neck. “You’re gonna need your strength. This is only the beginning, lover.”


End file.
